FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Boston Marathon Champions Returning to Boston
Class of 1972 Women Among Those To Be Honored.
Joan Samuelson Joins Boston Marathon Field.
Meb Keflezighi to Serve as Grand Marshal.
BOSTON – The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today announced that
several former champions of the Boston Marathon will be returning to Boston
and participating in the events surrounding the 116th running of the
world's oldest annual marathon on April 16, 2012.
Notably, inaugural Olympic gold medalist Joan Samuelson has entered this
year's Boston Marathon and will run on Monday. Samuelson won the 1979 and
1983 Boston Marathons before winning Olympic Games Marathon in Los Angeles
in 1984. Samuelson also ran the 2011 Boston Marathon, finishing in
2:51:29. Samuelson has been a member of principal sponsor John Hancock
Financial Service's Elite Team and is one of the sport's most recognized
and popular personalities. She has remained a competitive athlete for more
than three decades.
The B.A.A. will honor the 40th anniversary of the 76th Boston Marathon in
1972, the first year women were officially allowed to compete in the
historic race. Nina Kuscsik, who won in 1972, will be joined by fellow
pioneers and members of the 1972 women's field Kathrine Switzer, Pat
Barrett, Sara Mae Berman, and Valerie Rogosheske. The group of pioneering
women, along with the Boston Marathon's first female participant Bobbi
Gibb, will be recognized at the annual Champions' Breakfast on Saturday,
April 14. The "Class of 1972" will also make public appearances in
Hopkinton on Friday evening and at the John Hancock Sports & Fitness Expo
on Saturday afternoon.
"We are especially proud to be welcoming back most of the female
participants from the first year in which women were officially able to
compete and be recognized in the Boston Marathon," said Joann Flaminio,
B.A.A. President. "These women blazed a trail for all women distance
runners and forever and positively changed our race."
Former winners Olavi Suomalainen of Finland (1972) and Allison Roe of New
Zealand (1981) will also receive honors at this year's B.A.A. Champions'
Breakfast. Olavi Suomalainen, who took the olive wreath in 1972, broke away
from Colombia's Victor Manuel Mora near Boston College to finish first in
2:15:29. He became the first Finnish winner at Boston in a decade. Allison
Roe triumphed over Patti Catalano with a course record time of 2:26:46 in
1981. Because of the devastation caused by an earthquake in her native
country of New Zealand, she was unable to receive her honors at the 2011
Champions' Breakfast.
This year also marks the 100th anniversary of Michael J. Ryan's victory
over a mud and slush-soaked Boston Marathon course in 1912. Ryan will be
represented at the Champions' Breakfast by four of his great-grandchildren:
Amy Ryan Kadner, Laura Ryan Chimento, Mike Ryan, and Katie Ryan Mishkin.
They will all run this year's Boston Marathon in his memory. The
first-place trophy won by Michael Ryan in 1912 was flown by the B.A.A. to
Boston for the weekend, and will be on display at various functions.
"Our champions honor us by their presence," said Tom Grilk, Executive
Director of the B.A.A. "We look forward to celebrating and remembering
their accomplishments this weekend and showcasing them at our events and on
race day."
Defending champions Geoffrey Mutai, of Kenya (men's open race); Caroline
Kilel, of Kenya (women's open race); Masuzumi Soejima, of Japan (men's
wheelchair division race); and Wakako Tsuchida, of Japan (women's
wheelchair division race) also will be in attendance at the B.A.A.'s
Champions' Breakfast on race day to officially and ceremonially receive
their top-seeded bibs for Monday's race.
In addition to these honorees at the Champions' Breakfast, the B.A.A. will
pay tribute to the late John J. Kelley, the only B.A.A. Club Member to win
the Boston Marathon. Kelley established a new course record of 2:20:05 with
his win in 1957. He was the runner-up at the Boston Marathon on five
occasions. Kelley also competed in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games, won the
1959 Pan American Games, and garnered eight consecutive U.S. Marathon
titles. Known as John "The Younger," Kelley was not related to fellow
Boston Marathon legend, John A. Kelley. John J. Kelley passed away at the
age of 80 on August 21, 2011. The 1968 Boston Marathon champion, Amby
Burfoot, will provide remarks on Kelley's passing at the Champions'
Breakfast. Kelley was Burfoot's mentor and friend and both were from
Connecticut.
Additionally, American Mebrahtom "Meb" Keflezighi will serve as the grand
marshal for the 2012 Boston Marathon. The B.A.A. has reserved the grand
marshal role as a position of recognition and honor. Keflezighi will ride
in a Nissan pace car ahead of the lead runners, heralding to spectators
along the course that thousands of runners will soon be coming. Following
his recent victory at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials in Houston,
Keflezighi will represent the United States at the Olympic Games in London
this summer. He is a three-time Olympian and the silver medalist in the
2004 Olympic Marathon. He was the 2009 New York City Marathon champion and
has competed in the Boston Marathon twice, placing third in 2006 and fifth
in 2010.
Many other Boston Marathon champions, legends, pioneers, and significant
figures in race history will also be in town during race week,
participating in a number of ways at various events, including running in
the B.A.A. 5K on Sunday morning.
Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit
organization with a mission of managing athletic events and promoting a
healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A.'s Boston
Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon, and the organization
manages other local events and supports comprehensive charity, youth, and
year-round running programs. Since 1986, the principal sponsor of the
Boston Marathon has been John Hancock Financial. The Boston Marathon is
part of the World Marathon Majors along with the Virgin London Marathon,
BMW Berlin Marathon, Bank of America Chicago Marathon, and the ING New York
City Marathon.
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