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Defending Champion Mary Keitany to Lead Powerful Women’s Field at the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 1
World and Olympic medalist
Sally Kipyego and top-American distance runner Laura Thweatt to make marathon debuts
New York, September 16, 2015ÛÓDefending
champion Mary Keitany of Kenya and 2011 World and 2012 Olympic
10,000-meter silver medalist Sally Kipyego of Kenya, making her marathon
debut, will lead an accomplished professional women’s
field at the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon, set for Sunday, November
1, it was announced today by Peter Ciaccia, president of events for New
York Road Runners and race director of the TCS New York City Marathon.
Joining Keitany and Kipyego will be top American
distance runner Laura Thweatt making her marathon debut, 2015 IAAF
World Marathon silver medalist
Helah Kiprop and 2015 Boston Marathon champion Caroline Rotich, both of Kenya, as well as 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon champion
Tigist Tufa of Ethiopia.
“We are excited to welcome an extremely talented
women’s field of marathon veterans, including our defending champion
Mary Keitany, and newcomers to the marathon distance, including Sally
Kipyego and Laura Thweatt, to the 2015 TCS New York
City Marathon,” said Ciaccia. “Along with Helah Kiprop, Caroline
Rotich, and Tigist Tufa, this star-powered field will lead the way for a
community of 50,000 runners along an amazing journey through the five
boroughs of New York City.”
“Having such a talented group of athletes
competing in the TCS New York City Marathon is inspiring to so many in
New York City and around the world,” said Michael Capiraso, president
and CEO of New York Road Runners. “Our mission at New
York Road Runners is to help and inspire people through running,
whether that’s with one of the more than 50 events we organize each year
or through one of NYRR’s many youth and community initiatives, such as
our Run for the Future program that provides college
scholarships to female high school seniors.”
Keitany, 33, won the 2014 TCS New York City
Marathon with a time of 2:25:07, improving upon her third-place
performances in 2010 and 2011. She finished second at the 2015 London
Marathon and won two consecutive London Marathons (2011, 2012),
the latter in 2:18:37, making her the second-fastest performer in
history. Keitany, the 2015 Oakley New York Mini 10K champion, placed
fourth at the 2012 London Olympic Marathon and won the 2011ÛÓ2012 World
Marathon Majors series title. On Sunday, she won the
2015 Great North Run by four minutes in 1:07:32.
“I am happy and proud to go back to New York to
defend my title,” said Keitany. “To be the defending champion is a great
honor, but also a big responsibility for me. Therefore, I have been
doing my own preparation since June to ensure that
I will reach the best shape possible to perform even better than last
year in order to make my supporters happy, who will be watching me run
in the streets of New York.”
Kipyego, 29, who lives and trains in Eugene, OR,
earned a silver medal in the 10,000 meters at both the 2011 IAAF World
Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 2012 Olympics, where she
also finished fourth in the 5000 meters. In 2014,
she was the fastest 10,000-meter runner in the world and won the NYC
Half in an event-record 1:08:31. Kipyego won nine NCAA Division I titles
while at Texas Tech University, tied for the most in history. She has
also impressed at the shorter distances in New
York, finishing second at the 2011 NYRR 5th Avenue Mile, third and
fourth at the 2011 and 2013 NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K,
respectively, and won the 3000 meters at the 2015 NYRR Millrose Games.
“I’m very excited to be making my marathon debut
in New York this year,” said Kipyego. “I have had great opportunities
to race over different distances on the streets of New York and I look
forward to this new distance. The distance is
definitely daunting but I’m grateful to New York Road Runners for
giving me the opportunity a few years ago to ride on the lead car, which
was a fantastic way to check out the course. I’m simply thrilled, but
nervous at the same time.”
Thweatt, 26, of Boulder, CO, is the 2015 USA
Cross Country champion and the 2013 and 2014 USA Club Cross Country
individual champion. She represented the United States at the 2015 IAAF
World Cross Country Championships and finished second
at the 2015 USA 15K Championships. In 2014, she made her half-marathon
debut with a time of 1:11:01 and she was the third-fastest 5000-meter
runner in the United States. Thweatt, a graduate of the University of
Colorado, also recorded a third-place finish
at the 2013 USA 12K Championships.
“Deciding to make my marathon debut at the TCS
New York City Marathon has been a mixture of total excitement and
complete terror,” said Thweatt. “I’m truly humbled and honored to have
been given this incredible opportunity and cannot imagine
anything more electrifying than racing 26.2 miles through the five
boroughs. I chose the TCS New York City Marathon because of its rich
history and the opportunity to compete with some of the best in the
world.”
Additional Select Athlete Backgrounds and Notable Performances
·
Tufa, 28, is the
2015 London Marathon champion, the first Ethiopian champion since 2001.
In 2014, she won both the Shanghai Marathon and the Ottawa Marathon, and
she finished second at the Los Angeles
Marathon. She finished sixth at the 2015 IAAF World Championships
Marathon.
·
Kiprop, 30, is the
2015 IAAF World Marathon silver medalist. Her performance at the World
Championships and her second-place finish at the 2015 Tokyo Marathon
currently rank her second in the Abbott
World Marathon Majors Series IX. She won the 2014 Seoul Marathon and
finished fourth at the 2013 Berlin Marathon, her debut at the distance.
·
Rotich, 31, who
lives and trains in Santa Fe, NM, is the reigning Boston Marathon
champion and the former event record-holder and two-time champion (2011,
2013) of the NYC Half. In addition to her
2015 Boston Marathon win, she has had three other top-five finishes in
Abbott World Marathon Majors races and won the 2013 Prague Marathon.
·
Priscah Jeptoo,
30, of Kenya, is the 2013 New York City Marathon champion. She clinched
the 2012ÛÓ2013 World Marathon Majors series title with victories
at both the New York and London marathons in 2013, a silver-medal
performance at the 2012 Olympic Marathon, and a third-place finish at
the 2012 London Marathon. She is the fifth-fastest half-marathoner of
all time.
·
Aselefech Mergia,
30, of Ethiopia, is the 2015 Dubai Marathon champion and the 2009 IAAF
World Championships Marathon bronze medalist. She won the Dubai
Marathon in 2012 in a personal best
of
2:19:31, becoming the eighth–fastest marathoner in history. She earned a silver
medal
at
the
IAAF
World
Half–Marathon
Championships
and won the
2010 London Marathon.
·
Buzunesh Deba,
27, of Ethiopia, who lives and trains in the Bronx, finished third at
the 2015 Boston Marathon and is a two-time runner-up at the New York
City Marathon (2011, 2013). Deba, the 2014 NYC Half runner-up, has won
eight of the 17 marathons she has completed in her career and set a
personal best of 2:19:59 to finish second at the 2014 Boston Marathon.
·
Sara Moreira,
30, of Portugal, finished third place in her marathon debut at the 2014
TCS New York City Marathon. She is a two-time Olympian (2008, 2012)
and owns four European Championships medals: one gold (2013 indoor 3000
meters), two silvers (2009 indoor 3000 meters, 2010 outdoor 5000
meters), and one bronze (2012 outdoor 5000 meters).
·
Jelena Prokopcuka,
38, of Latvia, is a two-time champion of the New York City Marathon
(2005, 2006), one of only seven women to win two titles. In her
other four New York City Marathon appearances, she placed third (2007,
2013), fourth (2014), and fifth (2004). She holds seven Latvian national
records and is a three-time Olympian (1996, 2000, 2004).
|
Professional Women |
Marathon Personal Best |
|
|
Mary Keitany, KEN |
2:18:37 |
|
|
Aselefech Mergia, ETH |
2:19:31 |
|
|
Buzunesh Deba, ETH |
2:19:59 |
|
|
Priscah Jeptoo, KEN |
2:20:14 |
|
|
Tigist Tufa, ETH |
2:21:52 |
|
|
Jelena Prokopcuka, LAT |
2:22:56 |
|
|
Caroline Rotich, KEN |
2:23:22 |
|
|
Helah Kiprop, KEN |
2:24:03 |
|
|
Christelle Daunay, FRA |
2:24:42 |
|
|
Sara Moreira, POR |
2:24:49 |
|
|
Ana Dulce Felix, POR |
2:25:15 |
|
|
Anna Incerti, ITA |
2:25:32 |
|
|
Marisol Romero, MEX |
2:31:15 |
|
|
Alana Hadley, USA |
2:38:34 |
|
|
Kaci Lickteig, USA |
2:44:15 |
|
|
Caroline Wostmann, RSA |
2:44:57 |
|
|
Cassie Fien, AUS |
2:54:21 |
|
|
Sally Kipyego, KEN |
Debut |
|
|
Laura Thweatt, USA |
Debut |
The 2015 TCS New York City Marathon will be
televised live on Sunday, November 1, on WABC-TV, Channel 7 in the New
York tri-state area from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET and for the rest of
the nation on ESPN2 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
ET. The race will also be live on abc7NY.com and via the WatchABC app,
as well as via WatchESPN on computers, tablets, smartphones, Amazon Fire
TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360, and Xbox
One for those who have video subscriptions
from affiliated providers. Additionally, the race will be available in
Spanish via ESPN Deportes+. Pre-race coverage will be carried live in
the New York tri-state area on WABC-TV, Channel 7 from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m.
and pre- and post-race coverage will be also
be carried live nationally on ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network
ESPN3 from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. ESPN3 will also
present a view of the finish line from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Additional race-weekend events will be carried live
in the New York tri-state area on WABC-TV, Channel 7 on Friday, October
30, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 31, from 7:30 to 8:00
p.m. A national compilation show will air after the race from 4:00 to
6:00 p.m. on ABC. International viewers can
watch the broadcast from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. via a variety of global
broadcast partners (international viewers should check local listings).
For the latest TCS New York City Marathon
news and media information and to apply for a TCS New York City Marathon
credential to cover the event on race day, please visit the NYRR online
media center at
nyrr.org/mediacenter and follow us on Twitter
@nyrrnews.
About the TCS New York City Marathon
The TCS New York City Marathon is the premier
event of New York Road Runners (NYRR) and the largest marathon in the
world. Held annually on the first Sunday in November, the race features
the world’s top professional athletes and a vast
range of competitive, recreational,
and charity runners. The race began in 1970 with just 127 entrants
running four laps around Central Park, and expanded citywide in 1976. In
2014, a record 50,530 runners from 130 countries
toured New York City’s five boroughs, including the one-millionth
finisher in the history of the event, starting on Staten Island at the
foot of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and running through the
neighborhoods of Brooklyn, Queens,
and the Bronx, before ending in Manhattan at the iconic Central Park
finish line. More than one million spectators line the city streets to
cheer on the runners, while millions more watch the live television
broadcast in the United States and around the world. The
race is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a series featuring
the world’s top marathonsÛÓTokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and
New YorkÛÓand crowning the top professional male and female marathoners
of the series. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS),
a leading global IT services, consulting, and business solutions
organization, is the premier partner of NYRR and the title sponsor of
the TCS New York City Marathon. To learn more, visit
www.tcsnycmarathon.com.
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