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Press Release - Boston Marathon - 2/10/11

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                      John Hancock Financial Announces 
               2011 Boston Marathon International Elite Field

             43 Elite Athletes from Around the World Invited for 
                         115th Running on April 18

Boston Champions, International Champions and Top Americans Lead the Team
BOSTON, Feb. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 26th year as principal sponsor 
of the Boston Marathon, John Hancock Financial today announced the elite 
field for the 115th running of the Boston Marathon on April 18.  A complete 
field list follows.

Reigning champions Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot and Teyba Erkesso will defend 
their titles, but will be fiercely challenged by one of the fastest and 
deepest men's and women's fields ever assembled for the Boston Marathon.  

Cheruiyot ran a stunning 2:05:52 course record last year over the difficult 
Boston course.  In April he will face top contenders that include past and 
present marathon champions of New York City, Chicago, Seoul, Amsterdam, 
Houston, Xiamen, Torino, Eindhoven, Phoenix, Monaco, Gyeongju, Milan and 
Nairobi.  

Geoffrey Mutai leads the line-up as the second fastest man in the world 
last year with a 2:04:55 best. Joining him are 2:06 men including top 
American Ryan Hall, Gilbert Yegon, Tadese Tola, Evans Cheruiyot and 2010 
Seoul course record holder Sylvester Teimet. 

Challenging this group are the 2010 New York City champion Gebregziabher 
Gebremariam, the newly crowned Houston course record holder Bekana Daba and 
2010 Boston runner-up Tekeste Kebede.  

International newcomers to the course include Philip Sanga, Feleke Cherkos, 
Deressa Edae, Stephen Kibiwot, Peter Kamais and 2011 Xiamen winner Robert 
Kipchumba.  Returning to Boston are Moses Kigen Kipkosgei, Shadrack 
Kiplagat and American talent Antonio Vega.  Irish Olympian Alistair Cragg 
and Kenyan Moses Mosop will make their marathon debuts.  

On the women's side, the historic race in Boston has been decided over the 
past three years by three seconds or less.  Last year Teyba Erkesso 
maintained a three second lead to the finish as she held off a charging 
Tatyana Pushkareva.  This year's race likely will prove just as competitive 
with 16 women in the field holding times of 2:26:20 or better.  

Past champions Salina Kosgei, Dire Tune and four-time winner Catherine 
Ndereba join Erkesso and Pushkareva.  The experienced trio will contest a 
highly competitive race that includes 2010 international marathon 
champions, top Americans and talented newcomers. 

Chasing the Boston champions are 2010 international marathon winners 
including Sharon Cherop, who edged Tirfi Tsegaye Beyene to win Toronto by 
one second, and Caroline Kilel, who won Frankfurt after a duel with Dire 
Tune.  Carpi champion Hellen Mugo is on the team and she joins Amsterdam 
winner Alice Timbilili.

Challenging the group are top Americans Kara Goucher, who finished third in 
Boston in 2009, and Desiree Davila, the fastest American of 2010 with her 
fourth place finish in Chicago, and Olympian Blake Russell. International 
competitors include New Zealand Olympian Kim Smith, former Russian national 
record holder Galina Bogomolova and young talent Merima Mohammed from 
Ethiopia. 

Werknesh Kidane and Florence Kiplagat also bring significant credentials to 
the race.  Kidane is a multiple junior and senior World Cross Country 
champion (2 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze) and Kiplagat, who will make her 
marathon debut, is a World Half Marathon and World Cross Country champion.  
Both women are married to men in the field: Kidane is married to 
Gebregziabher Gebremariam and Kiplagat is married to Moses Mosop.

Additional talent includes Silvia Skvortsova, Teyba Naser, Woynishet Girma 
and Yuliya Ruban.

"Throughout our more than two decade-long sponsorship of the Boston 
Marathon, John Hancock has each year honored its commitment to bring the 
world's top runners to the race and ensure that the historic Boston 
Marathon remains among the world's most premier sporting events," said Rob 
Friedman, head of Sponsorship and Event Marketing at John Hancock. "This 
year's field once again is filled with outstanding runners who no doubt 
will provide the millions of spectators and viewers with yet another 
thrilling contest. We are counting down the days to April 18th."

"Competitive excellence has been the touchstone for the Boston Marathon for 
over a century, both among our full field of runners and the magnificent 
field of professional runners from around the world recruited by John 
Hancock," said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. Executive Director.  "John Hancock 
Financial's sponsorship of our premier event over the last 26 years -- 
including support of professional marathoners -- has resulted in pre-race 
excitement, competitive races, and historic performances." 

John Hancock's 2011 Elite Boston Marathon Field
  
Men's Open Field             Country      Personal Best
Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot     Kenya        2:05:52 (Boston, 2010) CR
Geoffrey Mutai               Kenya        2:04:55 (Rotterdam, 2010)
Ryan Hall                    USA          2:06:17 (London, 2008)
Gilbert Yegon                Kenya        2:06:18 (Amsterdam, 2009) 
Evans Cheruiyot              Kenya        2:06:25 (Chicago, 2008)
Tadese Tola                  Ethiopia     2:06:31 (Frankfurt, 2010)
Sylvester Teimet             Kenya        2:06:49 (Seoul, 2010) CR
Bekana Daba                  Ethiopia     2:07:04 (Houston, 2011) CR
Philip Kimutai Sanga         Kenya        2:07:11 (Frankfurt, 2010)
Shadrack Kiplagat            Kenya        2:07:53 (Amsterdam, 2007)
Tekeste Kebede               Ethiopia     2:07:23 (Boston, 2010)
Feleke Abreham Cherkos       Ethiopia     2:07:29 (Amsterdam, 2010)
Deressa Chimsa Edae          Ethiopia     2:07:54 (Dubai, 2009)
Stephen Kibiwot              Kenya        2:07:54 (Praha, 2009)
Robert Kipchumba             Kenya        2:08:07 (Xiamen, 2011) CR
Gebregziabher Gebremariam    Ethiopia     2:08:14 (New York City 2010)
Moses Kigen Kipkosgei        Kenya        2:10:12 (Nairobi, 2009) CR
Antonio Vega                 USA          2:13:47 (Boston, 2010)
Peter Kamais                 Kenya        2:14:58 (New York City, 2010)
Alistair Cragg               Ireland      Debut
Moses Mosop                  Kenya        Debut
  
John Hancock's 2011 Elite Boston Marathon Field 
  
Women's Open Field           Country      Personal Best
 
Teyba Erkesso                Ethiopia     2:23:53 (Houston, 2010) CR
Galina Bogomolova            Russia       2:20:47 (Chicago, 2006)
Sharon Cherop                Kenya        2:22:43 (Toronto, 2010) CR
Tirfi Tsegaye Beyene         Ethiopia     2:22:44 (Toronto, 2010)
Merima Mohammed              Ethiopia     2:23:06 (Toronto, 2010)
Salina Kosgei                Kenya        2:23:22 (Berlin, 2006)
Caroline Kilel               Kenya        2:23:25 (Frankfurt, 2010)
Dire Tune                    Ethiopia     2:23:44 (Frankfurt, 2010) 
Alice Timbilili              Kenya        2:25:03 (Amsterdam, 2010)
Kim Smith                    New Zealand  2:25:21 (London, 2010)
Kara Goucher                 USA          2:25:52 (New York, 2010)
Tatyana Pushkareva           Russia       2:26:14 (Boston, 2010)
Desiree Davila               USA          2:26:20 (Chicago, 2010)
Teyba Naser                  Ethiopia     2:26:20 (Los Angeles, 2010)
Silvia Skvortsova            Russia       2:26:24 (Berlin, 2009)
Werknesh Kidane              Ethiopia     2:27:15 (Dubai, 2011)
Hellen Mugo                  Kenya        2:27:16 (Carpi, 2010)
Yuliya Ruban                 Ukraine      2:27:44 (Frankfurt, 2010)
Woynishet Girma              Ethiopia     2:27:51 (Amsterdam, 2010)
Blake Russell                USA          2:29:10 (Chicago, 2005)
Florence Kiplagat            Kenya        Debut

NR = National Record
CR = Course Record
 
For more information about the Boston Marathon:

www.johnhancock.com/bostonmarathon/index.html  Twitter: @JHFS_Boston26

www.baa.org Twitter: @B_A_A About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 22 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, Manulife Financial Corporation offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. For more than 120 years, clients have looked to Manulife for strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most significant financial decisions. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$475 billion (US$478 billion) as at December 31, 2010. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com. The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial products and services, including life insurance, fixed and variable annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at www.johnhancock.com. ###


 

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