LONDON MARATHON FIELDS TRULY LOADED FOR 2011
By David Monti
(c) 2010 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission
(16-Dec)
-- Superlatives are thrown around all too casually in the promotion of
marathon races. It seems every week an event organizer sends around a
press release touting a "stellar field" which is their event's "best
ever."
But for once it is true. The field recruited by race
director Dave Bedford for the 2011 Virgin London Marathon next April is
extraordinary for its quality, depth and diversity. Amongst the 22 men
and 25 women from 21 different nations who have committed to the race
are World Championships and Olympic Games medallists, continental
championships medallists, World Marathon Majors champions, winners of
other important marathons, and athletes who have simply run very fast.
"The
women's race looks likely to be one of the most competitive we've ever
had," Bedford asserted through a news release. He continued: "We
certainly expect the men's course record to be under threat again."
Indeed,
14 women in the field have broken 2:24 (16 sub-2:26), while a total of
six men have broken the 2:06 barrier (ten sub-2:08). Bedford labeled
his women's field as "undoubtedly our strongest ever" and he said the
men's field "rivals any of those we've put together in the last few
years."
Leading the women's field is the reigning World Marathon
Majors champion, Liliya Shobukhova of Russia, who won both the Virgin
London and Bank of America Chicago marathons in 2010. She has a career
best time of 2:20:25. Her key opponents will be 2007 London champion
and the newly crowned Asian Games marathon champion Zhou Chunxiu of
China (2:19:51 PB), two-time London champion Irina Mikitenko of Germany
(2:19:19), reigning Olympic gold medallist Constantina Dita of Romania
(2:21:30), world half-marathon record holder Lornah Kiplagat of the
Netherlands (2:22:22), 2010 London runner-up Inga Abitova of Russia
(2:22:19), 2009 World Champion Bai Xue of China (2:23:27), 2010 ING New
York City Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat (2:25:38), and Britain's
best-ever women's finisher in an Olympic Marathon, Mara Yamauchi
(2:23:12).
London will also host the marathon debuts of Britain's Jo Pavey, Portugal's Jessica Augusto and Australia's Nikki Chapple.
Ethiopia's
Tsegaye Kebede, the race's defending champion with a career best time
of 2:05:18, gets top billing from the London organizers, but he isn't
the fastest man in the field. That distinction goes to Kenya's Patrick
Makau who won the marathons in Berlin and Rotterdam in 2010, and
recorded a year-leading time and personal best of 2:04:48 at Rotterdam.
This will be his first Virgin London Marathon.
Samuel Wanjiru,
the 2008 Olympic Marathon champion and the reigning World Marathon
Majors series champion, is also in the field (2:05:10 PB). He failed to
finish at London last April due to knee trouble, but rallied back to
beat Kebede in a thrilling mano-a-mano race at the Bank of America
Chicago Marathon last October. Reigning world champion Abel Kirui of
Kenya (2:05:04), 2010 Berlin third-placer Bazu Worku of Ethiopia
(2:05:25), two-time world champion and Olympic silver medallist Jaouad
Gharib of Morocco (2:05:27), 2010 Virgin London and ING New York City
Marathon runner-up Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya (2:06:15), and reigning
European marathon champion Viktor Röthlin of Switzerland (2:07:23) are
also in the field.
Australia's Collis Birmingham and America's Mohamed Trafeh will make their debuts.
Because
the Easter holiday is Sunday, April 24, the London and Boston Marathons
will be held on consecutive days in 2011; London will be Sunday, April
17, and Boston will be Monday, April 18.
The full invited fields of the 2011 Virgin London Marathon are listed below:
MEN (with career best times) -
Tsegaye Kebede, ETH, 2:05:18
Patrick Makau, KEN, 2:04:48
Samuel Wanjiru, KEN, 2:05:10
Abel Kirui, KEN, 2:05:04
Bazu Worku, ETH, 2:05:25
Jaouad Gharib, MAR, 2:05:27
Emmanuel Mutai, KEN, 2:06:15
Viktor Röthlin, SUI, 2:07:23
Abderrahime Bouramdane, MAR, 2:07:33
Yonas Kifle, ERI, 2:07:34
José Manuel Martínez, ESP, 2:08:09
Marilson Gomes dos Santos, BRA, 2:08:37
Dmitry Safronov, RUS, 2:10:12,
Reid Coolsaet, CAN, 2:11:23
Eric Gillis, CAN, 2:12:08
Dylan Wykes, CAN, 2:12:39,
Cuthbert Nyasango, ZIM, 2:12:40
Mike Shelley, AUS, 2:13:05
Michael Aish, USA, 2:13:21
Andrew Lemoncello, GBR, 2:13:40
Collis Birmingham, AUS, Debut
Mohamed Trafeh, USA, Debut
WOMEN (with career best times) -
Liliya Shobukhova, RUS, 2:20:25
Zhou Chunxiu, CHN, 2:19:51
Irina Mikitenko, GER, 2:19:19
Constantina Dita, ROU, 2:21:30
Askale Tafa, ETH, 2:21:31
Inga Abitova, RUS, 2:22:19
Lornah Kiplagat, NED, 2:22:22
Aselefech Mergia, ETH, 2:22:38
Bezunesh Bekele, ETH, 2:23:09
Mara Yamauchi, GBR, 2:23:12
Bai Xue, CHN, 2:23:27
Mariya Konovalova, RUS, 2:23:50
Xiaolin Zhu, CHN, 2:23:57
Aberu Kebede, ETH, 2:23:58
Yukiko Akaba, JPN, 2:24:55
Edna Kiplagat, KEN, 2:25:38
Magdalena Lewy Boulet, USA, 2:26:22
Liz Yelling, GBR, 2:28:33
Lisa Weightman, AUS, 2:28:48 ,
Mary Keitany, KEN, 2:29:01
Fiona Docherty, NZL, 2:32:17
Tanith Maxwell, RSA, 2:32:33
Jo Pavey, GBR, Debut
Jessica Augusto, POR, Debut
Nikki Chapple, AUS, Debut
ENDS