BOSTON MARATHON RELEASES FULL ELITE FIELDS
By David Monti
(c) 2013 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
 
(15-Jan) -- Organizers of the Boston Marathon, one of the six events of the World Marathon Majors, released their full elite fields for the 2013 race on Monday, April 15, and the contest will be stronger and more diverse than ever.  Forty elite athletes from 14 countries have been contracted to run by race patron John Hancock Financial.
 
Not surprisingly, African athletes make up the bulk of the elite field with 21 of the 40 spots.  Amongst those are defending champions Wesley Korir and Sharon Cherop, both of Kenya.  Other top African stars include Kenyans Moses Mosop, Levy Matebo, Dickson Chumba, Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, Micah Kogo (debut), and Lucas Rotich (debut) for the men, and Rita Jeptoo for the women.  The Ethiopian squad will be led by Gebre Gebremariam, Markos Geneti, Shami Abdullah Dawit, and Raji Assefa for the men, and Aselefech Mergia, Meseret Hailu and Mamitu Daska for the women.  African men have won in Boston the last 11 consecutive years; African women have won the last five.
 
Two of Europe's top women, Ana Dulce Félix of Portugal and Sabrina Mockenhaupt of Germany, will both compete in Boston for the first time.  The last European woman to win the race was Lydia Grigoryeva of Russia in 2007.
 
Organizers had previously announced their group of American athletes, including five of the six runners who competed for the United States in last summer's London Olympics.
 
A complete athlete list is presented, below, with career best times and the nations they represent.  Course and national records have been noted.
 
MEN -
Moses Mosop 2:03:06 (Boston, 2011) Kenya
Gebre Gebremariam 2:04:53 (Boston, 2011) Ethiopia
Markos Geneti 2:04:54 (Dubai, 2012) Ethiopia
Ryan Hall 2:04:58 (Boston, 2011) USA
Levy Matebo 2:05:16 (Frankfurt, 2011) Kenya
Shami Abdullah Dawit 2:05:42 (Dubai, 2012) Ethiopia
Dickson Chumba 2:05:46 (Eindhoven, 2012) CR Kenya
Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot 2:05:52 (Boston, 2010) Kenya
Wesley Korir 2:06:15 (Chicago, 2011) Kenya
Raji Assefa 2:06:24 (Paris, 2012) Ethiopia
Abdi Abdirahman 2:08:56 (Chicago, 2006) USA
Meb Keflezighi 2:09:08 (Houston, 2012) USA
Jeffrey Hunt 2:11:00 (Beppu, 2010) Australia
Jason Hartmann 2:11:06 (Chicago, 2010) USA
Eric Gillis 2:11:28 (Toronto, 2011) Canada
Fernando Cabada 2:11:53 (Houston, 2012) USA
Guor Marial 2:12:55 (San Diego, 2012) NR South Sudan
Robin Watson 2:13:37 (Rotterdam, 2012) Canada
Micah Kogo, debut 59:07 (South Shields, 2012)
Lucas Rotich, debut 59:44 (Den Haag, 2011)
 
WOMEN -
Aselefech Mergia 2:19:31 (Dubai, 2012) CR Ethiopia
Meseret Hailu Debele 2:21:09 (Amsterdam, 2012) CR Ethiopia
Mamitu Daska 2:21:59 (Frankfurt, 2011) Ethiopia
Rita Jeptoo 2:22:04 (Chicago, 2012) Kenya
Sharon Cherop 2:22:39 (Dubai, 2012) Kenya
Madai Pérez 2:22:59 (Chicago, 2006) NR Mexico
Alemita Abera Begna 2:23:14 (Houston, 2012) Ethiopia
Tetiana Gamera-Shmyrko 2:24:32 (London, 2012) Ukraine
Kara Goucher 2:24:52 (Boston, 2011) USA
Shalane Flanagan 2:25:38 (Houston, 2012) USA
Ana Dulce Félix 2:25:40 (NYC, 2011) Portugal
Yolanda Caballero 2:26:17 (Boston, 2011) Colombia
Sabrina Mockenhaupt 2:26:21 (Berlin, 2010) Germany
Diana Chepkemoi Sigei 2:26:53 (Dubai, 2011) Kenya
Karolina Jarzynska 2:27:16 (Yokohama, 2011) Poland
Serena Burla 2:28:27 (Seoul, 2012) USA
Stephanie Rothstein Bruce 2:29:35 (Houston, 2011) USA
René Kalmer 2:29:59 (Yokohama, 2011) RSA
Diane Nukuri-Johnson 2:30:13 (London, 2012) NR Burundi
Alissa McKaig 2:31:56 (Houston, 2012) USA
 
PHOTO: Wesley Korir of Kenya (l) celebrates his 2012 Boston Marathon victory with Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)
 
ENDS