2015 TCS New York City Marathon Women’s Field Released – Mary Keitany Headlines, Sally Kipyego (and Laura Thweatt) To Debut

Press Release from the NYRR

New York, September 16, 2015—Defending champion Mary Keitany of Kenya and 2011 World and 2012 Olympic 10,000-meter silver medalist Sally Kipyego of Kenya, making her marathon debut, will lead an accomplished professional women’s field at the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon, set for Sunday, November 1, it was announced today by Peter Ciaccia, president of events for New York Road Runners and race director of the TCS New York City Marathon.

Joining Keitany and Kipyego will be top American distance runner Laura Thweatt making her marathon debut, 2015 IAAF World Marathon silver medalist Helah Kiprop and 2015 Boston Marathon champion Caroline Rotich, both of Kenya, as well as 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon champion Tigist Tufa of Ethiopia.

“We are excited to welcome an extremely talented women’s field of marathon veterans, including our defending champion Mary Keitany, and newcomers to the marathon distance, including Sally Kipyego and Laura Thweatt, to the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon,” said Ciaccia. “Along with Helah Kiprop, Caroline Rotich, and Tigist Tufa, this star-powered field will lead the way for a community of 50,000 runners along an amazing journey through the five boroughs of New York City.”

“Having such a talented group of athletes competing in the TCS New York City Marathon is inspiring to so many in New York City and around the world,” said Michael Capiraso, president and CEO of New York Road Runners.  “Our mission at New York Road Runners is to help and inspire people through running, whether that’s with one of the more than 50 events we organize each year or through one of NYRR’s many youth and community initiatives, such as our Run for the Future program that provides college scholarships to female high school seniors.”

Keitany, 33, won the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon with a time of 2:25:07, improving upon her third-place performances in 2010 and 2011. She finished second at the 2015 London Marathon and won two consecutive London Marathons (2011, 2012), the latter in2:18:37, making her the second-fastest performer in history. Keitany, the 2015 Oakley New York Mini 10K champion, placed fourth at the 2012 London Olympic Marathon and won the 2011–2012 World Marathon Majors series title. On Sunday, she won the 2015 Great North Run by four minutes in 1:07:32.

Mary Keitany celebrates her win in New York last year *More 2015 TCS New York City Marathon Marathon

“I am happy and proud to go back to New York to defend my title,” said Keitany. “To be the defending champion is a great honor, but also a big responsibility for me. Therefore, I have been doing my own preparation since June to ensure that I will reach the best shape possible to perform even better than last year in order to make my supporters happy, who will be watching me run in the streets of New York.”

Kipyego, 29, who lives and trains in Eugene, OR, earned a silver medal in the 10,000 meters at both the 2011 IAAF World Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 2012 Olympics, where she also finished fourth in the 5000 meters. In 2014, she was the fastest 10,000-meter runner in the world and won the NYC Half in an event-record 1:08:31. Kipyego won nine NCAA Division I titles while at Texas Tech University, tied for the most in history. She has also impressed at the shorter distances in New York, finishing second at the 2011 NYRR 5th Avenue Mile, third and fourth at the 2011 and 2013 NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K, respectively, and won the 3000 meters at the 2015 NYRR Millrose Games.

“I’m very excited to be making my marathon debut in New York this year,” said Kipyego. “I have had great opportunities to race over different distances on the streets of New York and I look forward to this new distance. The distance is definitely daunting but I’m grateful to New York Road Runners for giving me the opportunity a few years ago to ride on the lead car, which was a fantastic way to check out the course. I’m simply thrilled, but nervous at the same time.”

Thweatt, 26, of Boulder, CO, is the 2015 USA Cross Country champion and the 2013 and 2014 USA Club Cross Country individual champion. She represented the United States at the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and finished second at the 2015 USA 15K Championships. In 2014, she made her half-marathon debut with a time of 1:11:01 and she was the third-fastest 5000-meter runner in the United States. Thweatt, a graduate of the University of Colorado, also recorded a third-place finish at the 2013 USA 12K Championships.

Laura Thweatt Wins 2015 USATF XC Title *More 2015 USA XC Photos

“Deciding to make my marathon debut at the TCS New York City Marathon has been a mixture of total excitement and complete terror,” said Thweatt. “I’m truly humbled and honored to have been given this incredible opportunity and cannot imagine anything more electrifying than racing 26.2 miles through the five boroughs. I chose the TCS New York City Marathon because of its rich history and the opportunity to compete with some of the best in the world.”

Additional Select Athlete Backgrounds and Notable Performances

• Tufa, 28, is the 2015 London Marathon champion, the first Ethiopian champion since 2001. In 2014, she won both the Shanghai Marathon and the Ottawa Marathon, and she finished second at the Los Angeles Marathon. She finished sixth at the 2015 IAAF World Championships Marathon.
• Kiprop, 30, is the 2015 IAAF World Marathon silver medalist. Her performance at the World Championships and her second-place finish at the 2015 Tokyo Marathon currently rank her second in the Abbott World Marathon Majors Series IX. She won the 2014 Seoul Marathon and finished fourth at the 2013 Berlin Marathon, her debut at the distance.
• Rotich, 31, who lives and trains in Santa Fe, NM, is the reigning Boston Marathon champion and the former event record-holder and two-time champion (2011, 2013) of the NYC Half. In addition to her 2015 Boston Marathon win, she has had three other top-five finishes in Abbott World Marathon Majors races and won the 2013 Prague Marathon.
• Priscah Jeptoo, 30, of Kenya, is the 2013 New York City Marathon champion. She clinched the 2012–2013 World Marathon Majors series title with victories at both the New York and London marathons in 2013, a silver-medal performance at the 2012 Olympic Marathon, and a third-place finish at the 2012 London Marathon. She is the fifth-fastest half-marathoner of all time.
• Aselefech Mergia, 30, of Ethiopia, is the 2015 Dubai Marathon champion and the 2009 IAAF World Championships Marathon bronze medalist. She won the Dubai Marathon in 2012 in a personal best of 2:19:31, becoming the eighth-fastest marathoner in history. She earned a silver medal at the IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships and won the 2010 London Marathon.
• Buzunesh Deba, 27, of Ethiopia, who lives and trains in the Bronx, finished third at the 2015 Boston Marathon and is a two-time runner-up at the New York City Marathon (2011, 2013). Deba, the 2014 NYC Half runner-up, has won eight of the 17 marathons she has completed in her career and set a personal best of 2:19:59 to finish second at the 2014 Boston Marathon.
• Sara Moreira, 30, of Portugal, finished third place in her marathon debut at the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon. She is a two-time Olympian (2008, 2012) and owns four European Championships medals: one gold (2013 indoor 3000 meters), two silvers (2009 indoor 3000 meters, 2010 outdoor 5000 meters), and one bronze (2012 outdoor 5000 meters).
• Jelena Prokopcuka, 38, of Latvia, is a two-time champion of the New York City Marathon (2005, 2006), one of only seven women to win two titles. In her other four New York City Marathon appearances, she placed third (2007, 2013), fourth (2014), and fifth (2004). She holds seven Latvian national records and is a three-time Olympian (1996, 2000, 2004).

Discuss the race in our fan forum: MB: 2015 TCS New York City Women’s Field Announced – Mary Keitany headlines, Sally Kipyego and Laura Thweatt to debut

The 2015 TCS New York City Marathon will be televised live on Sunday, November 1, on WABC-TV, Channel 7 in the New York tri-state area from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET and for the rest of the nation on ESPN2 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET. The race will also be live on abc7NY.com and via the WatchABC app, as well as via WatchESPN on computers, tablets, smartphones, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360, and Xbox One for those who have video subscriptions from affiliated providers. Additionally, the race will be available in Spanish via ESPN Deportes+. Pre-race coverage will be carried live in the New York tri-state area on WABC-TV, Channel 7 from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and pre- and post-race coverage will be also be carried live nationally on ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network ESPN3 from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. ESPN3 will also present a view of the finish line from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Additional race-weekend events will be carried live in the New York tri-state area on WABC-TV, Channel 7 on Friday, October 30, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 31, from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. A national compilation show will air after the race from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on ABC. International viewers can watch the broadcast from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. via a variety of global broadcast partners (international viewers should check local listings).