FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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John Hancock Financial Services
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Boston Athletic Association Awarded
2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon
Event to be held one day prior to the 112th Boston Marathon
BOSTON - USA Track & Field today announced that the City of Boston and the
Boston Athletic Association have been selected to host the 2008 U.S.
Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon.
The event will take place on April 20, 2008 - the day before the 112th
Boston Marathon - and will be used to select the three athletes who will
represent the United States in the 2008 Beijing Olympic marathon.
In cooperation with the City of Boston, the City of Cambridge, and the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the B.A.A. has designed a multi-loop course,
starting and finishing in Boston's Back Bay at the famous Boston Marathon
finish line.
"The course includes a 'tour' of some of Boston's historic landmarks at the
beginning, followed by four loops across the Charles River to Cambridge and
along Memorial Drive," said Guy Morse, Executive Director of the B.A.A.
"The centerpiece of the course will be the Boylston Street homestretch,
which the athletes will run four times, including the finish. There may not
be a more thrilling finish venue in the sport."
The B.A.A. and the City of Boston first announced their intentions of
bidding for the Olympic Trials in November 2004. USATF collected bids from
four cities before selecting Boston to host the Women's Trials and New York
to host the Men's Trials. This marks the 13th time that Boston will play a
role in selecting the Olympic marathon team. Not since 1960 has Boston been
used as a selection race, and this will be the first time that the women's
team will be determined in Boston.
"Some things are just meant to be," said Morse. "The Olympic Trials in
Boston - like Major League Baseball's All-Star Game at Fenway Park - will
be a perfect fit for our city, which is already synonymous with running."
To date, 46 women have already qualified for the Trials race, including
American record-holder Deena Kastor, the bronze medalist in the 2004 Athens
Olympic marathon.
Also qualified is Joan Benoit Samuelson, the two-time Boston Marathon
champion and the gold medalist in the inaugural women's Olympic marathon in
1984. Samuelson has run in all six U.S. Women's Olympic Trials Marathons
ever held - 2008 will be her seventh.
In addition to hosting the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's
Marathon, the Boston Athletic Association will also host the 2007 U.S.
Women's National Marathon Championship. That race will take place within
the Boston Marathon on April 16, 2007. The National Marathon Championship
will serve as a selection race for the World Championships in Osaka, Japan,
in September 2007.
_______________________________________________________
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. Besides the Boston
Marathon, the organization manages other local events and supports
comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running programs.
Media: For further information, please contact Jack Fleming (B.A.A.
Director of Communications) in Indianapolis at 617-694-8218 (mobile); or
Marc Chalufour (B.A.A. Communications Manager) at 617-236-1652 ext. 2632 or
617-694-7928 (mobile).
2008 U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS - WOMEN'S MARATHON
Boston, Massachusetts
Fact Sheet
What: The B.A.A., with cooperation from the City of Boston, will host the
2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon. The Trials will be the
selection event, as designated by USA Track & Field (the sport's national
governing body), to field the representatives in the marathon at the
Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Who: As an elite qualifying race, participants must meet times within a
period as designated by USA Track & Field. As many as 175 women will
participate.
Qualifying times of 2:39:00 ("A" standard) or 2:47:00 ("B" standard) are
necessary to enter the race. Additionally, athletes may enter with a
10,000m time of 33:00:00.
Qualifying times must be run between January 1, 2006 and March 23, 2008.
Additionally, athletes were granted a one-day qualifying window at the 2005
U.S. Marathon Championships, held on October 2, 2005.
Through June 19, three women had met the "A" standard and 43 women had met
the "B" standard. The three "A" qualifiers are Deena Kastor (2004 Olympic
bronze medalist in the marathon), Jen Rhines (2004 Olympic marathoner), and
Emily LeVan (top American finisher in the past two Boston Marathons and
member of the B.A.A. team).
When: Sunday, April 20, 2008 (Patriots' Day weekend), the day before the
running of the 112th Boston Marathon.
Where: The B.A.A. has developed a multiple-loop, spectator and athlete
friendly course, finishing in Boston's Back Bay at the famous Boston
Marathon finish line. The 26.2-mile course has been designed to generate
fast performances and will showcase Boston's landscape.
Online: For additional information about the Olympic Trials, go to the
USATF website: http://usatf.org/events/2008/OlympicTrials-Marathon-Women/
Or visit the Boston Athletic Association's site: www.baa.org.
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