Two-Time Boston Marathon Champion And World Champ Lelisa Desisa Returning For The 2021 Boston Marathon This October
Press Release
August 31, 2021
BOSTON—The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has announced that two-time Boston Marathon champion, reigning World Athletics Marathon champion, and 2:04:45 marathoner Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia will compete in the 125th Boston Marathon on Monday, October 11. Desisa joins 13 previously announced Boston Marathon champions who are racing as part of the John Hancock Professional Athlete Team.
“Boston has become my second home and I truly cherish my time when I am there,” said Desisa. “I return to compete still chasing my third victory in the Boston Marathon. Thank you, Boston; I look forward to putting on a good show for you on Marathon Monday!”
Desisa, who broke the tape first in 2013 (2:10:22) then again in 2015 (2:09:17), returns to Boston for the seventh time. In 2019, Desisa finished runner-up by a mere two seconds behind winner Lawrence Cherono. In addition to Boston and the 2019 World Championships, Desisa has previously won the 2018 TCS New York City Marathon, 2013 Dubai Marathon, and earned silver at the 2013 World Athletics Championships Marathon. His lifetime best of 2:04:45 ranks third in this year’s field, featuring nine men who have run 2:06:00 or faster.
Additionally, 2020 Houston Marathon champion and 2:05:56 marathoner Kelkile Gezahegn will compete for top honors in October. Gezahegn has won marathons in Houston, Ljubljana, Frankfurt, and Lanzhou since 2017, with four additional wins in 2016. Gezahegn’s personal best of 2:05:56 was set en route to a third-place finish at the 2018 Rotterdam Marathon. This will be his Boston Marathon debut.
The complete John Hancock Professional Athlete Team field list can be found below. For media planning to cover the 125th Boson Marathon both in-person and from afar, athlete bios, race information, updated media materials, and credential application information will be available in the coming weeks.
WOMEN’S OPEN DIVISION
| WOMEN | PERSONAL BEST | COUNTRY |
| Yebrgual Melese | 2:19:36 (Dubai, 2018) | Ethiopia |
| Edna Kiplagat^ | 2:19:50 (London, 2012) | Kenya |
| Mare Dibaba | 2:19:52 (Dubai, 2012) | Ethiopia |
| Workenesh Edesa | 2:20:24 (Valencia, 2019) | Ethiopia |
| Sutume Kebede | 2:20:30 (Tokyo, 2020) | Ethiopia |
| Jordan Hasay | 2:20:57 (Chicago, 2017) | USA |
| Besu Sado | 2:21:03 (Amsterdam, 2019) | Ethiopia |
| Helah Kiprop | 2:21:27 (Tokyo, 2016) | Kenya |
| Bedatu Hirpa | 2:21:32 (Frankfurt, 2018) | Ethiopia |
| Atsede Baysa | 2:22:03 (Chicago, 2012) | Ethiopia |
| Diana Chemtai Kipyogei | 2:22:06 (Istanbul, 2020) | Kenya |
| Desiree Linden | 2:22:38 (Boston, 2011) | USA |
| Biruktayit Eshetu | 2:22:40 (Toronto, 2019) | Ethiopia |
| Tigist Abayechew | 2:22:45 (Dubai, 2020) | Ethiopia |
| Purity Changwony | 2:22:46 (Ampugnano, 2021) | Kenya |
| Caroline Rotich | 2:23:22 (Chicago, 2012) | Kenya |
| Molly Huddle | 2:26:33 (London, 2019) | USA |
| Mary Ngugi | 2:27:36 (New York City, 2019) | Kenya |
| Nell Rojas | 2:28:09 (Duluth, 2019) | USA |
| Paige Stoner | 2:28:43 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
| Shiho Kaneshige | 2:28:51 (Osaka, 2020) | Japan |
| Dakotah Lindwurm | 2:29:04 (Duluth, 2021) | USA |
| Netsanet Gudeta | 2:29:15 (Paris, 2017) | Ethiopia |
| Kellys Arias | 2:29:36 (Hamburg, 2016) NR | Colombia |
| Julia Griffey | 2:29:58 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
| Tish Jones | 2:31:00 (London, 2019) | Great Britain |
| Bethany Sachtleben | 2:31:20 (Lima, 2019) | USA |
| Dot McMahan^ | 2:31:48 (Duluth, 2011) | USA |
| Sydney Devore | 2:32:39 (Pittsburgh, 2018) | USA |
| Hilary Dionne | 2:33:03 (Sacramento, 2018) | USA |
| Brittany Charboneau | 2:33:14 (Atlanta, 2020) | USA |
| Dawn Grunnagle^ | 2:33:14 (Berlin, 2019) | USA |
| Susanna Sullivan | 2:33:27 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
| Heather Lieberg^ | 2:34:07 (St. Paul, 2019) | USA |
| Caitlin Phillips | 2:34:43 (Berlin, 2019) | USA |
| Laurie Knowles^ | 2:36:01 (Chicago, 2016) | USA |
| Courtney Olson | 2:36:21 (Sacramento, 2018) | USA |
| Brittany Moran | 2:36:22 (Sacramento, 2019) | Canada |
| Marie-Ange Brumelot | 2:36:23 (Chicago, 2019) | France |
| Emma Spencer | 2:37:05 (Berlin, 2018) | USA |
| Rachel Hyland | 2:37:22 (Sacramento, 2018) | USA |
| Andrea Pomaranski | 2:37:39 (Duluth, 2021) | USA |
| AnnMarie Kirkpatrick | 2:37:49 (Sacramento, 2018) | USA |
| Gina Rouse^ | 2:38:41 (Atlanta, 2020) | USA |
| Nina Zarina | 2:38:50 (Duluth, 2021) | USA |
| Jordan O’Dea | 2:38:57 (Lowell, 2019) | USA |
| Christina Murphy^ | 2:39:15 (Columbus, 2013) | USA |
| Lindsay Nelson | 2:39:33 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
| Hilary Corno^ | 2:42:14 (Chicago, 2018) | USA |
| Caroline Chepkoech | Debut (1:05:07 Half) | Kazakhstan |
| Monicah Wanjuhi | Debut (1:07:29 Half) | Kenya |
| Elaina Tabb | Debut (1:10:44 Half) | USA |
Athletes with ^ next to their names are Masters (40+) athletes
MEN’S OPEN DIVISION
| MEN | PERSONAL BEST | COUNTRY |
| Asefa Mengstu | 2:04:06 (Dubai, 2018) | Ethiopia |
| Lemi Berhanu | 2:04:33 (Dubai, 2016) | Ethiopia |
| Lelisa Desisa | 2:04:45 (Dubai, 2013) | Ethiopia |
| Benson Kipruto | 2:05:13 (Toronto, 2019) | Kenya |
| Wilson Chebet | 2:05:27 (Rotterdam, 2011) | Kenya |
| Filex Kiprotich | 2:05:33 (Daegu, 2019) | Kenya |
| Dejene Debela | 2:05:46 (Chicago, 2019) | Ethiopia |
| Kelkile Gezahegn | 2:05:56 (Rotterdam, 2018) | Ethiopia |
| Thomas Kiplagat | 2:06:00 (Seoul, 2019) | Kenya |
| Felix Kandie | 2:06:03 (Seoul, 2017) | Kenya |
| Paul Lonyangata | 2:06:10 (Paris, 2017) | Kenya |
| Tsedat Ayana | 2:06:18 (Dubai, 2020) | Ethiopia |
| Geoffrey Kirui | 2:06:27 (Amsterdam, 2016) | Kenya |
| Yuki Kawauchi | 2:07:27 (Otsu, 2021) | Japan |
| Abrar Osman | 2:07:46 (Amsterdam, 2019) | Eritrea |
| Jake Robertson | 2:08:26 (Otsu, 2018) | New Zealand |
| Bayelign Teshager | 2:08:28 (Los Angeles, 2020) | Ethiopia |
| Abdi Abdirahman^ | 2:08:56 (Chicago, 2006) | USA |
| Scott Fauble | 2:09:09 (Boston, 2019) | USA |
| Colin Bennie | 2:09:38 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
| Scott Smith | 2:09:46 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
| Stephen Scullion | 2:09:49 (London, 2020) | Ireland |
| Augustus Maiyo | 2:10:47 (Atlanta, 2020) | USA |
| Dylan Wykes | 2:10:47 (Rotterdam, 2012) | Canada |
| Parker Stinson | 2:10:53 (Chicago, 2019) | USA |
| Matt McDonald | 2:11:10 (Chicago, 2019) | USA |
| CJ Albertson | 2:11:18 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
| Reid Buchanan | 2:11:38 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
| Jonas Hampton | 2:12:10 (Atlanta, 2020) | USA |
| Tyler Pennel | 2:12:34 (Atlanta, 2020) | USA |
| Tyler Jermann | 2:12:40 (Chandler, 2020) | USA |
| Rory Linkletter | 2:12:54 (Chandler, 2020) | Canada |
| Jarrett Leblanc | 2:13:51 (Sacramento, 2018) | USA |
| Carlos Trujillo | 2:14:21 (Chicago, 2012) | Guatemala |
| Luke Humphrey^ | 2:14:39 (San Diego, 2011) | USA |
| Nitendra Rawat Singh | 2:15:18 (Guwahati, 2016) | India |
| Daniel Ortiz Perez | 2:15:41 (Valencia, 2020) | Mexico |
| Luis Carlos Rivero | 2:15:43 (Seville, 2020) | Guatemala |
| Thomas Toth | 2:16:28 (Toronto, 2019) | Canada |
| Pardon Ndhlovu | 2:16:47 (Houston, 2019) | Zimbabwe |
| Brian Harvey | 2:17:05 (St. Paul, 2014) | USA |
| Alex Taylor^ | 2:17:08 (Duluth, 2019) | USA |
| Patrick Reaves | 2:17:45 (Sacramento, 2018) | USA |
| Peter Bromka^ | 2:19:04 (Sacramento, 2019) | USA |
| Chip O’Hara^ | 2:21:20 (Tempe, 2020) | USA |
| Eric Blake^ | 2:22:49 (Sacramento, 2018) | USA |
| Blue Bendum^ | 2:23:43 (Boston, 2014) | USA |
| Jemal Yimer | Debut (58:33 Half NR) | Ethiopia |
| Leonard Barsoton | Debut (59:09 Half) | Kenya |
| Harvey Nelson | Debut (1:01:48 Half) | USA |
| Girma Mecheso | Debut (1:02:16 Half) | USA |
| David Bett | Debut (1:02:31 Half) | Kenya |
| Paul Hogan | Debut (1:04:23 Half) | USA |
Athletes with ^ next to their names are Masters (40+) athletes