Boston Marathon announces complete elite field for 2021
Six Canadians will be on the start line, including former Olympian Dylan Wykes
The Boston Athletic Association announced Wednesday that the first-ever fall edition of the storied race will feature an elite field of more than 140 athletes, including Jordan Hasay, Des Linden and Molly Huddle. Runners will be following the traditional route from Hopkinton to Boston on Monday, Oct. 11, with a field of 20,000 runners. 70,000 others will run in the virtual event.
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The women’s race
On the women’s side, there are three international athletes on the start list who have run under 2:20, including Yebrgual Melese (2:19:36) and Mare Dibaba (2:19:52) of Ethiopia and Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat (2:19:50), who won the race in 2017. Hasay finished third that year and boasts a personal best of 2:20:57, and Linden, who will be running Boston for the seventh time, is entering the race with a PB of 2:22:38. Linden won the race in 2018 during very wet, windy and cold conditions, and was second in 2011. Toronto’s Brittany Moran is the only elite Canadian in the field, coming in with a personal best of 2:36:22.
Photo: Victah Sailer@PhotoRun
The men’s race
On the men’s side, there are two athletes with personal bests under 2:05, another two under 2:06, and and seven more under 2:07. The top seeds are Ethiopia’s Asefa Mengstu (2:04:06) and Lemi Berhanu (2:04:33), followed by Kenya’s Benson Kipruto (2:05:13) and Wilson Chebet (2:05:27). Kipruto was the winner of the 2018 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Dylan Wykes is the top-seeded Canadian in the field with a personal best of 2:10:47, Rory Linkletter (2:12:54) and Thomas Toth (2:16:28). 44-year-old American runner Abdi Abdirahman will be on the start line as the top U.S. athlete, only 64 days after competing in the Olympic marathon in Tokyo.
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Men’s wheelchair race
Canada’s Josh Cassidy is one of the top entrants in the wheelchair division, coming in with the third-fastest time in the field of 1:18:25. Tristan Smyth will also be on the start line, coming in with a personal best of 1:29:53, which he set in 2018 at the Berlin marathon.
For a complete list of the elite field, check out the B.A.A. announcement here.
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