2012 John Hancock Elite Athlete
Field Summary
Men's Field Summary
Reigning champion Geoffrey Mutai will defend his title, but will be challenged by the fastest men’s field ever assembled for the Boston Marathon. The race will prove highly competitive with 18 of 18 John Hancock elite contenders having run their personal best marathon over the past two years, including nine men with times under 2:07.
Last year Mutai ran an unmatched 2:03:02 World Best on Boston’s IAAF Gold Label certified course, without the aid of pacesetters. He then followed that accomplishment with a course record win in New York City. Mutai is now the fastest marathoner in history, and the only man to ever set course records at Boston and New York in the same year. Mutai is highly motivated to beat all challengers in pursuit of a repeat Boston win and a coveted spot on the Kenyan Olympic Team.
Top contenders include last year’s third place finisher Gebre Gebremariam and 2010 Boston Champion Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot. Gebremariam set his 2:04:53 personal best at Boston last year and also won the 2010 New York City Marathon. Although he dropped out of the World Championships Marathon this past summer, he finished fourth at the 2011 New York City Marathon.
Cheruiyot returns for his fourth Boston with a mission of reclaiming his 2010 Boston title and the course record. During the 2010 race, Cheruiyot floated over the hills with his graceful gait and improved the then existing record by nearly two minutes, recording 2:05:52. No one would have believed that Mutai would improve Cheruiyot’s mark only a year later by almost three minutes.
Chasing the leaders are Kenyans Wilson Chebet, Wesley Korir and Levy Matebo. Chebet won both Amsterdam and Rotterdam in 2011 and has turned his half marathon prowess (59:15 personal best) into marathon success. Korir is the 2011 Chicago runner up and a fan favorite, having run competitively for the University of Louisville during his college years. He has successfully competed in the Los Angeles Marathon – Chicago Marathon double the last three years, winning Los Angeles twice. Matebo, the fourth fastest marathoner in the field, was second in Frankfurt last year in 2:05:16.
Americans Jason Hartmann and Nick Arciniaga will challenge each other for top American honors.
They both recently competed in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials this past January. Arciniaga returns to Boston with experience after having finished first American in 2008. Hartmann is the 2009 Twin Cities Marathon champion.
Silent threats going into the race include 2011 Dubai champion David Barmasai, 2:05:10 marathoner Tadese Tola of Ethiopia, 2011 Chicago third-place finisher Bernard Kipyego, and 2011 Fukuoka champion Josphat Ndambiri. They join the 2011 Amsterdam runner-up Laban Korir, 2012 Xiamen winner and course-record holder Peter Kamais, and half marathon specialist Mathew Kisorio.
Also in the field is Netherlander Michel Butter, who hopes to qualify for his country’s Olympic team, and Kenyans Dickson Chumba and Frankline Chepkwony.
Women's Field Summary
Winning the Boston Marathon is difficult enough, but winning by three seconds or less, as has been the outcome the past four years, is an amazing accomplishment.
Last year Caroline Kilel traded the lead with American Desiree Davila several times down the finishing stretch of Boylston Street. With only meters to go Kilel made a final surge and triumphed by two seconds over Davila for the 2:22:36 win. Kilel collapsed in exhaustion after breaking the tape, totally spent by Davila’s fierce challenge.
Kilel will face another difficult race this year as Kenyan teammates Sharon Cherop and Caroline Rotich return for a rematch. Last year, both Cherop and Rotich ran with Kilel and Davila through the closing miles. Cherop held on to the leaders to claim the final podium position and Rotich finished fourth.
After Boston, Cherop and Rotich competed at the World Championships Marathon in Daegu. Both women contributed to Kenya earning the team gold, with Cherop earning the individual bronze medal. Kilel and Rotich then competed against each other in New York City this past fall, finishing sixth and seventh respectively. Cherop opted for the 2012 Dubai Marathon, where she finished seventh with a new personal best of 2:22:39.
Adding their talents to the Kenyan group are Agnes Kiprop and 2006 Boston champion Rita Jeptoo. Kiprop had a productive year in 2011 placing second in both Paris and Frankfurt. Jeptoo took time off for childbirth from 2008 to 2010, and has returned to the sport with renewed motivation. She ran three marathons last year and won at altitude in Eldoret.
The Ethiopian contingent in the John Hancock field wants to reclaim the Boston crown for their country. Last year’s New York City winner Firehiwot Dado and runner up Buzunesh Deba will join the talented Mamitu Daska, who holds the second fastest time in the field.
Dado’s New York City winning time of 2:23:15 was the fastest time ever run at that event by an Ethiopian woman. Dado is also a three-time consecutive winner of the Rome Marathon and winner in Florence. Deba, a Bronx’s resident, was only four seconds behind Dado at the tape in New York. She brings strong credentials to Boston having been crowned champion of eight marathons in the United States over the past three years. Rounding out the trio is Daska who set a new course record and personal best of 2:21:59 in Frankfurt last year.
The Kenyan-Ethiopian and Boston-New York rivalries will add some intensity to the race, but working to break up these teams will be a top Russian group of Galina Bogomolova, Alevtina Biktimirova, and Nadezdha Leonteva.
Bogomolova and Biktimirova are back in shape after taking time off to have children. Bogomolova is a former Russian national record holder and Biktimirova has experience on the course after having finished second in Boston in 2008. Last year Leonteva finished runner up at the Twin Cities Marathon and third at the Russian National Marathon Championships. This trio will definitely work together over the challenging Newton hills.
Additional talent in the women’s elite field includes Ashu Kasim, Georgina Rono, Diana Sigei, Genet Getaneh, and Jemima Jelagat Sumgong.