Boston Marathon Releases Elite Field For 2011 And Meb Keflezighi Is Left Out And Controversy Simmers
By David Monti.
(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
February 10, 2011
LetsRun.com Editor's note: The author is an elite athlete consultant for the ING NYC Marathon
John Hancock Financial, the longtime supporter of the elite
section of the Boston Marathon, announced today one of the event's
strongest fields, including both defending champions, Robert Kiprono
Cheruiyot of Kenya and Teyba Erkesso of Ethiopia. By the numbers, the
field includes 14 men who have broken 2:08 (seven with sub-2:07 times),
and 15 women who have broken 2:27 (eight sub-2:24).
"This year's field once again is filled with outstanding runners who no
doubt will provide the millions of spectators and viewers with yet
another thrilling contest," said Hancock's sponsorship and event
marketing chief Rob Friedman through a media release. "We are counting
down the days to April 18th."
But one runner those spectators and viewers won't see in Boston is 2004
Olympic Marathon silver medallist and 2009 ING New York City Marathon
champion Meb Keflezighi of Mammoth Lakes, Calif.. Hours before the
Boston announcement, Keflezighi, 35, posted a statement on his website
expressing his disappointment at not being included in the Boston field
this year. He's run the race twice, finishing third in 2006 in 2:09:56
and fifth in 2010 in 2:09:26.
"Starting in July 2010, my team communicated consistent and serious
interest to John Hancock's elite athlete coordinator about my competing
in the 2011 Boston Marathon," Keflezighi's statement read.
"Unfortunately, though John Hancock's representative indicated there
was a lot of interest in having me as part of the field and keeping the
conversation alive until late January, no offer was made. It's not that
Im not getting what I want, it's that John Hancock did not make me an
offer at all."
The process of recruiting athletes for major marathons is a delicate and
expensive one, especially for the events of the World Marathon Majors
(WMM), the family of the sport's five top commercial marathons, of which
Boston is a member. There is a far greater number of qualified
athletes than any one of the WMM races can afford (top athletes receive
payments to participate called appearance fees), so each event sets
their recruiting priorities by usually focusing on a key group of stars,
then expanding to a supporting cast of lesser quality athletes.
Inevitably, there are disappointments on both sides.
But while it is not unusual for an organizer to skip over an athlete and
not make an offer, it is unusual for a top athlete not to receive one
from a major race within his own country should he want to compete.
Keflezighi said that he was not being difficult, but just wanted to
know where he stood.
"As much as I respect the opportunity to run the Boston Marathon, I
would have accepted any reasonable offer," his statement continued.
Keflezighi said on Tuesday in a media teleconference organized by the
New York Road Runners in advance of next month's NYC Half-Marathon in
which he will be competing, that he would not be running Boston, but
instructed reporters that his reasons would not be unveiled until today
on his website. This reporter cannot recall another incident where a
top athlete publicly called out an organizer for not inviting him to a
race.
Boston organizers remained tight-lipped today. When reached for
comment, Roy Anderson, vice-president of corporate communications for
John Hancock would only provide a terse statement. "It is our policy
not to comment on athlete negotiations," Anderson said in an e-mail
message to Race Results Weekly.
Amongst the athletes who will be running Boston, there are several
American stars whom John Hancock Financial had previously announced.
They include 2007 world championships 10,000m bronze medallist, Kara
Goucher of Portland, Ore. (2:25:52 PB); the fastest American woman at
the marathon distance in 2010, Desiree Davila of Rochester Hills, Mich.
(2:26:20); and the USA half-marathon record holder Ryan Hall of Big Bear
Lake, Calif. (2:06:17). Goucher finished third at Boston in 2009, and
Hall finished third in 2009 and fourth in 2010. Hall is the fastest
American ever at Boston with his 2:08:41 in last year's race.
The core of the Boston field comes from Africa's two powerhouse
marathoning nations, Kenya and Ethiopia. In addition to defending
champions Cheruiyot and Erkesso, the Boston field features Kenyans
Geoffrey Mutai (2:05:55 PB), Gilbert Yegon (2:06:18), Evans Cheruiyot
(2:06:25), Sylvester Tiemet (2:06:49), Sharon Cherop (2:22:43), Salina
Kosgei (2:23:22), Caroline Kilel (2:23:25), and Alice Timbilili
(2:25:03) and Ethiopians Tadese Tola (2:06:31), Bekana Daba (2:07:04),
Tekeste Kebede (2:07:23), Tirfi Tsegaye Beyene (2:22:44), Merima
Mohammed (2:23:06), and Dire Tune (2:23:44). Both Kosgei (2009) and
Tune (2008) are Boston Marathon champions.
As for Keflezighi, he was clearly unhappy about the situation. "I'm
really disappointed not to get an offer because I really thought that I
could do something special on April 18 for the race, for U.S. distance
running, and, yes, for myself and my family," he wrote. "But my brother
Hawi, who is a lawyer and my manager, and I always try to accept
disappointment and setbacks with the dignity and respect that our
parents instilled in us. We recognize that we have been extremely
fortunate to be citizens of this great country, to represent a great
sport, and to have had such wonderful support from friends, coaches,
sponsors, and fellow competitors, and we always try to be worthy role
models for young people here and around the world. We are already
looking past Boston to the next opportunity."
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