Kenenisa Bekele, 5,000m and 10,000m World
Record Holder, and Eliud Kipchoge Lead Men’s Course Record
Chase
Sub 2:20 Women Rita Jeptoo, 2013 Champion, and
Florence Kiplagat, Half Marathon World Record Holder, Ready to Test
42K Speed
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon today announced that the
2014 elite competition will feature five men with personal records
(PR) of 2:05 or faster, and four women with the potential to break
the tape on Columbus Drive under 2:20.
“This year’s field is built for speed and record-breaking
performances,” said Bank of America Chicago Marathon Executive Race
Director Carey Pinkowski. “We have big expectations due to
this group of men and women who know how to race, dig deep and
win.”
Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele (2:05:04) and Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge
(2:04:05) will rekindle their historic track rivalry on the road as
both men chase the record books. Also in the hunt will be Kenya’s
Sammy Kitwara (2:05:16), Bernard Koech (2:04:53) and Dickson Chumba
(2:05:42).
In the women’s race, 2013 champion Rita Jeptoo (2:18:57) will
face Kenya’s Florence Kiplagat (2:19:44), Jemima Sumgong (2:20:48)
and relative newcomer, Ethiopia’s Birhane Dibaba (2:22:30).
The men’s fieldKenenisa Bekele and Eliud Kipchoge began
their competition on the start line more than a decade ago at the
2003 IAAF World Championships in the 5,000m. While the two men have
gone head-to-head more than a dozen times in their careers, their
biggest challenge on race day will be the course record, 2:03:45,
set last year by Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto. Only five men in history
have broken 2:04 on record-eligible courses.
Bekele transitioned to the marathon this year after an
illustrious track and cross-country career that produced four World
Records (he currently holds the 5,000m and 10,000m record) and over
21 Olympic and World Champion titles. Similar to Bekele, Kipchoge
transitioned from the track to the roads in 2012, and won his
marathon debut at the 2013 Hamburg Marathon in a course record
2:05:30. He started his 2014 campaign with a win at the Rotterdam
Marathon, clocking an even 2:05:00 despite windy conditions and
uneven pacing.
Far from a two-person race, the 2014 field includes several men
with the raw talent and right speed to join the quest for a new
course record. Kenya’s Sammy Kitwara returns to Chicago for a third
time and brings something unique to this year’s field: experience
on Chicago’s famously fast and flat course. Kitwara finished fourth
in his Chicago debut (and marathon debut) in 2012, running 2:05:54.
His speed over the half marathon distance – the fifth fastest men’s
time in history (58:48) – ranks him high among the list of
potential winners.
Kenya’s Bernard Koech does not have the longest resume in the
field, but he has the second-fastest marathon PR, 2:04:53, from his
marathon debut in Dubai in 2013; and like Kitwara, Koech has
incredible half marathon speed. At the 2013 Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego
Half Marathon, he produced the fastest half marathon time run on
American soil, beating Kipchoge by running 58:41.
Koji Kobayashi leads a strong contingent of Japanese runners. He
started his year with a personal best at the 2014 Tokyo Marathon,
finishing ninth in 2:08:51. Ecuador’s Byron Piedra rounds out the
international field. The two-time Pan-Am Games silver medalist has
little experience over long distances, but enough speed over 5,000m
and 10,000m to clock a fast time.
The American charge will be led by former track
star-turned-distance runner Bobby Curtis of Rochester Hills, Mich.
(2:13:24). Joining him will be Craig Leon of Eugene, Ore. (2:13:52)
and Tim Young of Fredericksburg, Va. (2:15:14). Hot off of his 25K
American Record, Christo Landry of Ann Arbor, Mich. (2:14:44), is
ripe for a breakthrough performance, and Matt Llano of Flagstaff,
Ariz., hopes to stride past Ryan Hall’s American marathon debut
record of 2:08:24 when he toes the line for the first time.
The women’s fieldDefending champion Rita Jeptoo and her
training partner, Jemima Sumgong, will return to Chicago this
October. Jeptoo ran her first career sub 2:20 in last year’s race,
the fifth fastest time in Chicago Marathon history, and she returns
this fall after smashing the Boston Marathon course record in
April, running 2:18:57. If Jeptoo cracks the 2:20 barrier for a
third time, she will become just the third woman in history to run
three career sub 2:20s. Sumgong, the 2013 Rotterdam Marathon
champion, stayed with Jeptoo through 35K during last year’s duel
and came home with a second-place finish and a new personal best of
2:20:48.
Out to prevent a repeat one-two finish by Jeptoo and Sumgong is
Kenya’s Florence Kiplagat, the 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon
champion and the 2011 and 2013 Berlin Marathon champion. Kiplagat
pulled out of the 2012 Chicago Marathon with an injury, and she has
made no secret of coming to Chicago this fall to improve her
2:19:44 personal best from the 2011 Berlin Marathon.
Twenty-year-old Birhane Dibaba stole the show at the 2014 Suja
Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Half Marathon when she outsprinted Rita
Jeptoo with 50 meters to go, winning in 1:09:34. Although Dibaba is
the youngest competitor in the elite field, she has run six
marathons. She ran her first marathon at age 18, and she has
finished her last three marathons in 2:23 or under.
Amy Hastings (Providence, R.I.) leads a talented field of
American women. Hastings, the ninth fastest American woman over the
marathon distance and the fifth fastest over 10,000m, made her
marathon debut in 2011 in convincing fashion, finishing second in
the Los Angeles Marathon in 2:27:03.
Joining Hastings will be top American finisher at the 2013
Chicago Marathon, Clara Santucci of Dilliner, Pa., (2:29:54) and
Becky Wade of Houston, Texas, dubbed America’s best young marathon
runner. Wade made her debut by winning the 2013 California
International Marathon in 2:30:41. 2012 Olympian Lisa Uhl (Des
Moines, Iowa), the seventh-fastest American over 10,000m, will make
her marathon debut. Watching the 2013 Bank of America Chicago
Marathon from the finish line inspired Uhl to re-evaluate her
career and ultimately make the move to the marathon.
Athlete quotes“I am looking forward to coming to Chicago
and competing with Kenenisa on the road this time. I chose Chicago
because it has a fast course and I want to better my personal best.
It’s also one of the best races in the world.” – Eliud Kipchoge
"I am coming back to Chicago for the third time. Chicago is a
nice city and it has a good sports atmosphere. I will try to run
the race of my life this year, and if God gives me the strength, my
target is to run 2:04:28." – Sammy Kitwara
"I'm very excited to run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon
this fall. The depth of the field this year is incredible. I'm
looking forward to seeing where I stand against the world's best,
as well as how I stack up against some of the top Americans.
Chicago is an exceptionally fast course so I hope to lower my PB of
2:13 by a few minutes. I've been training well so I think I have a
realistic shot at 2:10 or 2:11, on a great day, maybe faster." –
Bobby Curtis
“I was supposed to compete in the Chicago marathon two years ago
but was out due to injury, but I am happy now to be part of the
competition for my fans and supporters. It is no retreat and
no surrender for me; it’s a do-or-die game and I will give all my
best to succeed and make the 12th of October a great day!” –
Florence Kiplagat
“Running the Chicago Marathon has been my dream since I started
running, and it will be my first big race. My goal is to win and
run 2 hours, 20 minutes or faster.” – Birhane Dibaba
“I can't wait to be racing through the streets of Chicago. As a
notoriously fast course, I am out there to run a PR and compete
with some of the world’s best until the very end.” – Amy
Hastings
For additional athlete quotes, visit
http://www.chicagomarathon.com/2014elites.
Bank of America Chicago MarathonIn its 37th year and a
member of the World Marathon Majors, the Bank of America Chicago
Marathon annually attracts 45,000 participants, including a
world-class elite runner and wheelchair athlete field, and an
estimated 1.7 million spectators. As a result of its national and
international draw, the iconic race assists in raising millions of
dollars for a variety of charitable causes while generating $253
million in annual economic impact to its host city, according to a
report by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Regional
Economics Applications Laboratory (R.E.A.L.). The 2014 Bank of
America Chicago Marathon will start and finish in Grant Park
beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 12. In advance of the
race, a two-day Health & Fitness Expo will be held at McCormick
Place Convention Center on Friday, October 10, and Saturday,
October 11. For more information about the event and how to get
involved, go to chicagomarathon.com.
Visit the Bank of America newsroom for more Bank of America
news.
chicagomarathon.com
Alex Sawyer, Bank of America Chicago Marathon,
1.312.992.6618alex.sawyer@bankofamerica.comorDiane Wagner, Bank of
America, 1.312.992.2370diane.wagner@bankofamerica.com
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