Chicago Marathon announces Elite fields
Chicago, IL – The Bank of America Chicago Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, will feature four of the world’s fastest Marathon men and the top two finishers from last year’s women’s race at its 2013 event on 13 October, organisers announced on Thursday (5).
Kenya’s Moses Mosop, Dennis Kimetto and Emmanuel Mutai, and Ethiopia’s Ayele Abshero all rank among the top 11 marathon performers in history.
Mosop leads the way as the second-fastest marathon runner of all-time with a personal best of 2:03:06, followed by Kimetto, who is sixth on the list with 2:04:16, Abshero is seventh with 2:04:23 and Mutai 11th with 2:04:40.
In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Atsede Baysa and Kenya’s Rita Jeptoo will face one another for the first time since their dramatic sprint finish down Columbus Drive last year.
“It will be hard to top last year when the top three men all broke the previous course record and the women’s race was decided by a single second, but this is the field that can do it,” said executive race director Carey Pinkowski.
“These athletes are among the most exciting in the sport, not only with their fast times, but with their proven ability to win on the biggest stages in the world. We have two returning champions in Moses from 2011 and Atsede, with her memorable victory last year. They are the ones to beat, but they’ll have their work cut out for them against deep competition.”
The men will challenge the Chicago Marathon course record of 2:04:38 set last year by Ethiopia’s Tsegaye Kebede. Read more
