After Bekele finished 3rd in Berlin and 6th in New York last fall, there was optimism he'd be able to line up and run his first Boston Marathon in April but he has sadly withdrawn from the race.
Sara Hall, who was 8th in Tokyo and 12th in the NYC Half last month, is also out.
The good news is Boston isn't resting on its laurels. It brought in London champ Sisay Lemma and two-time Tokyo champ Birhanu Legese (2:02:48 pb) to replace Bekele and Ababel Yeshaneh (3rd in NYC, former HM WR holder) to bolster the women's field, among others. All changes are noted in article below: