FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JOHN HANCOCK FINANCIAL ANNOUNCES WORLD'S
TOP WOMEN TO RUN 2008 BOSTON MARATHON
Defending Champion Lidiya Grigoryeva is set to compete against
2006 Boston Champion Rita Jeptoo, Two-time Runner-up Jelena
Prokopcuka, and New International Talent
BOSTON, MA, February 13, 2008-In its 23rd year as the principal sponsor of
the Boston Marathon, John Hancock Financial announced their team of top
women contenders for the 112th running of the race on April 21. Defending
Boston Champion Lidiya Grigoryeva is set to compete against 2006 winner
Rita Jeptoo, two-time runner-up Jelena Prokopcuka and a new generation of
international talent.
The blend of athletes with experience on the course and those new to the
challenges of the hilly Hopkinton to Boston route should lead to a highly
competitive race. Collectively the group has won 18 international marathons
in the past three years and the top nine contenders have less than a
three-minute differential in their personal best times. In addition, the
athletes will be vying for a top Boston showing to secure a position on
their country's Olympic teams.
Russian Lidiya Grigoryeva has the edge coming into the race as the
defending champion. "Winning Boston last year is my proudest
accomplishment," says Grigoryeva. "The weather was terrible, but I was
very happy to have won." Grigoryeva is a two-time Olympian at 10,000 meters
and hopes to compete in the marathon at the 2008 Olympics. She also earned
a course record win at the 2006 Los Angeles Marathon and was champion at
the 2005 Paris Marathon.
John Hancock also announced they have signed 2006 Boston Champion Rita
Jeptoo of Kenya, who returns to challenge for another title. Jeptoo says,
"The Boston field is always one of the top ones, and this being an Olympic
year means that all the top women in the major marathons need to perform
well to be selected for their Olympic teams." Jeptoo is also a past Milan
Marathon and Stockholm Marathon winner.
Two-time runner-up Jelena Prokopcuka, the national record holder of Latvia,
has much to prove at this year's race. Although she has bested both
Grigoryeva and Jeptoo during her two New York City wins, she finished
behind Grigoryeva last year at Boston and in 2006 finished second to Jeptoo
by 10 seconds, the closest 1-2 women's finish in Boston history. A
three-time Olympian, Prokopcuka holds additional national records on the
road and track and was the second place finisher in the inaugural World
Marathon Majors Series.
Challenging the trio are talented newcomers Askale Tafa Magarsa and Dire
Tune, both of Ethiopia. Magarsa, only 23 years old, is the champion of the
2007 Paris and 2007 Dubai Marathons and the 2006 Milan Marathon. With a
personal best of 2:23:23, she will be a strong contender, as will Tune, a
22-year old, who is a two-time winner and course record holder of the
Houston Marathon (2007 and 2008) and champion of the 2006 Hong Kong
Marathon.
Also debuting on the Boston course are Ukrainian national record holder
Tetyana Kuzina-Hladyr, who in 2006 won in Rome and placed second in New
York City, and 2007 Amsterdam Marathon winner and half marathon standout
Magdaline Chemjor of Kenya.
Additional competition will come from returnees Alevtina Biktimirova of
Russia, the winner of the 2007 Honolulu Marathon; Italian Olympian Bruna
Genovese, a past winner of the Tokyo Women's Marathon, and 21-year old Robe
Tola Guta of Ethiopia, the 2006 Hamburg Marathon Champion and course record
holder.
These top athletes will join the complete John Hancock elite team, which
will be announced in March.
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