Good afternoon,

 

Please find the final athlete announcement for the ING New York City Marathon 2011 below. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or for additional information.

We look forward to working with you soon!

 

Best,

Drea

 

 

       

Contact:

Drea Braxmeier 212.423.2287 | dbraxmeier@nyrr.org 

Media Relations Department, New York Road Runners

Lauren Loeb 212.423.2271 | lloeb@nyrr.org  

Media Relations Department, New York Road Runners

 

For Immediate Release

 

World Championships Medalist Feyisa Lilesa, Half-marathon Sensation Matthew Kisorio, and Two-time European Championships Medalist Inga Abitova Added to ING New York City Marathon 2011 Field

 

Kenya’s Stephen Kibet, Ethiopia’s Firehiwot Dado, and Morocco’s Abdellah Falil also join championship field for November 6 race

 

Werknesh Kidane, former World Cross Country Champion and wife of defending ING New York City Marathon champion Gebre Gebremariam, completes the field

 

New York, October 20, 2011—The 2011 IAAF World Championships Marathon bronze medalist, Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia, and the second-fastest half-marathoner in the world this year, Matthew Kisorio of Kenya, lead a group of late additions to the ING New York City Marathon field, it was announced today by New York Road Runners officials.

 

Joining them on the starting line for the five-borough spectacle will be 2010 Virgin London Marathon runner-up Inga Abitova of Russia, three-time Rome Marathon champion Firehiwot Dado of Ethiopia, 2010 SportZone Half-Marathon (Portugal) champion Stephen Kibet of Kenya, and Moroccan Olympian Abdellah Falil. Also announced for the race is former World Cross Country champion and World Championships medalist Werknesh Kidane of Ethiopia, whose husband, Gebre Gebremariam, will defend his title in the men’s race.

 

Lilesa, 21, will be making his ING New York City Marathon debut, as will Kibet, 24, Dado, 27, and Kidane, 29, who had hoped to run the race last year but was kept from starting by a calf injury. Kisorio, 22, will be running his first marathon ever. Abitova, 29, is coming back to New York after her fourth-place finish last year. 

 

Previously announced runners for the men’s race include Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia, 2009 champion Meb Keflezighi of the USA, 2011 Virgin London Marathon champion Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya, Olympians Juan Luis Barrios of Mexico and Jaouad Gharib of Morocco, reigning Boston Marathon champion Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya, Ethiopian Olympic and World Championships medalist Tsegaye Kebede, and American debut marathoners Bobby Curtis and Ed Moran. Two-time ING New York City Marathon champion Martin Lel of Kenya was forced to withdraw from the field due to injury. 

 

In the women’s race, previously announced runners include three-time U.S. Olympian Jen Rhines, New Zealand Olympian Kim Smith, British Olympian Jo Pavey, Portugal’s championship long-distance duo of Jéssica Augusto and Ana Dulce Félix, U.S. debut marathoners Lauren Fleshman and Molly Pritz, reigning Boston Marathon champion Caroline Kilel of Kenya, 2011 London winner Mary Keitany of Kenya, 2011 Honda L.A. Marathon champion Buzunesh Deba of Ethiopia, Swedish marathon record-holder Isabellah Andersson, and Galina Bogomolova, Russia’s second-fastest marathoner ever. Reigning ING New York City Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat of Kenya was forced to withdraw from the field due to a knee injury.

 

New York Road Runners

Headquartered in New York City, New York Road Runners is dedicated to advancing the sport of running, enhancing health and fitness for all, and meeting our community’s needs. Our goal is to use the expertise acquired in our 53-year history to empower all people to live fitter, healthier lives through participation in our races, community events, instruction and training resources, and youth programs. Our races and other events draw more than 300,000 people each year. The ING New York City Marathon, NYRR’s premier event, is the largest and most inclusive marathon in the world, attracting the world’s top professional runners every year and raising $30.8 million for charity in 2010. NYRR’s running-based youth programs, which currently serve more than 100,000 children in hundreds of schools and community centers, promote children’s health and fitness, character development, and personal achievement in underserved communities. For more information, visit www.nyrr.org.   

 

The ING New York City Marathon

The premier event of New York Road Runners, the ING New York City Marathon is one of the world’s great road races, drawing some 140,000 applicants. The race attracts many world-class professional athletes, not only for the $650,000 in prize money, but also for the chance to excel in the media capital of the world before two million cheering spectators and a worldwide broadcast reach of 330 million. As any one of the more than 875,000 past participants will attest, crossing the finish line in Central Park is one of the great thrills of a lifetime. For more information, visit www.ingnycmarathon.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drea Braxmeier | NYRR Media | New York Road Runners | 212.423.2287 (work) | dbraxmeier@nyrr.org

 

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