17 Elites Added to 2021 Chicago Marathon Field Including Japanese NR Holder Kengo Suzuki (2:04:56 PB) As 14 Elites Withdraw
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2021 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
(05-Oct) — Organizers of Sunday’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon announced significant changes to their elite field this morning. Indeed, 14 athletes have withdrawn while another 17 have been added.
Important additions to the men’s competition include Kenya’s Dickson Chumba (2:04:32 PB), who has made the podium in Chicago three times including a victory in 2015; Kenya’s Reuben Kipyego (2:03:55 PB), who is the fastest man in the field; Japan’s Kengo Suzuki (2:04:56 PB), who holds that nation’s national marathon record; and Ethiopia’s Chalu Deso (2:04:53 PB), who finished sixth at the Valencia Marathon in 2020. On the women’s side, Kenya’s Vivian Kiplagat (2:21:11 PB), Ethiopia’s Meseret Belete (2:24:54), and Americans Carrie Dimoff (2:31:12) and Maegan Krifchin (2:33:14) have joined the race.
Key scratches in the men’s competition include Ethiopia’s Getaneh Molla (2:03:34 personal best), Bahrain’s Hassan El Abbassi (2:04:43), Kenya’s Joel Kimurer (2:05:19) and Laban Korir (2:05:54), and Japan’s Masato Kikuchi (2:07:20). The top women to withdraw are Mexico’s Vianney De La Rosa (2:30:04) and Britain’s Rosie Edwards (2:31:56).
This year’s race has a total prize money purse of USD 606,500 combining awards for elite runners and wheelchair athletes. The top runners will receive USD 55,000, down from USD 100,000 in 2019 when the race was last contested. The winning wheelchair athletes will receive $20,000, and the top American runners will get $15,000 (equal to 2019). Although the event has a history of fast times, organizers are not offering any publicly-reported time bonuses this year.
Neither of the race’s reigning champions, Brigid Kosgei nor Lawrence Cherono, are running the race this year. Kosgei, a Kenyan who set a world record of 2:14:04 when she won in Chicago in 2019, ran the Virgin Money London Marathon last Sunday and finished fourth. She also won the silver medal at the Olympic Marathon in Sapporo last August. Cherono, also from Kenya, finished fourth at the Olympic Marathon and has not been announced for a fall marathon.
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon will be broadcast live by the local NBC affiliate in Chicago, NBC-5 Chicago. Viewers in the United States can watch live and for free at NBCChicago.com (or in Spanish at TelemundoChicago.com). Coverage will begin at 08:00 EDT (07:00 CDT).
Quick Take by LetsRun.com: The Chicago Fields are stronger than they were a few months ago
On paper, based on pbs and assuming those running have actually been training and are in shape for a fall marathon, the end results after all the changes is both elite fields have gotten a little bit stronger than when they were announced initially in August. Initially, the women’s field only included three women who had ever broken 2:25 in it. Now there are 5 as Vivian Kiplagat (2:21:11 Abu Dhabi 2019) and Meseret Belete (2:24:54 Houston 2020) are now in.
| 2021 Chicago Women | # Sub 2:20s | # Sub 2:21s |
# Sub 2:22s | # Sub 2:23s |
# Sub 2:24s |
# Sub 2:25s |
| Current Field | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Original Field | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 2021 Chicago Men | # Sub 2:04s | # Sub 2:05s | # Sub 2:06s | # Sub 2:07s |
| Current Field | 1 | 3 | 7 | 9 |
| Original Field | 1 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
Here is the updated elite men’s field.
Bib Name Personal best Country
2…. Reuben Kipyego …….. 2:03:55 (Milan, 2021)…..KEN
3…. Seifu Tura…… 2:04:29 (Milan, 2021)…..ETH
4….Dickson Chumba……. 2:04:32 (Chicago, 2014)…….KEN
5…. Kengo Suzuki……. 2:04:56 (Otsu, 2021)…….JPN
6…. Shifera Tamru …. 2:05:18 (Dubai, 2019)….ETH
7…. Eric Kiptanui …….. 2:05:47 (Siena, 2021) ….KEN
38 ..Chalu Deso…..2:04:53 (Valencia, 2020)…….ETH
9….Galen Rupp…. 2:06:07 (Prague, 2018)..USA
10.. Fikre Bekele .. 2:06:27 (Seoul, 2019) ….ETH
11.. Abdi Ibrahim Abdo …. 2:08:32 (Rome, 2018)…. BRN
12.. Ian Butler……. 2:09:45 (Chandler AZ, 2020)……USA
13.. Ivan Gonzalez …… 2:11:07 (Valencia, 2020) ……COL
14.. Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse…… 2:11:20 (Chandler AZ, 2020)…… FRA
15..Colin Mickow……. 2:11:22 (Chandler AZ, 2020)……USA
16.. Wilkerson Given……… 2:11:44 (Chicago, 2019)…….USA
17.. Wily Canchanya.. 2:12:33 (Prague, 2021).. PER
18.. Tyler Jermann…… 2:12:40 (Chandler AZ, 2020)……USA
19..Chris Derrick…….. 2:12:50 (Chicago, 2017)…….USA
20..Josh Izewski .. 2:13:15 (Sacramento, 2018)……USA
21..Mike Sayenko…… 2:13:34 (Chandler AZ, 2020)……USA
22..Nico Montanez… 2:14:07 (Chandler AZ, 2020)……USA
23..John Tello……. 2:14:19 (Peru, 2021)…….COL
24.. Alan Peterson…… 2:14:45 (Chandler AZ, 2020)……USA
25..Dan Kremske……. 2:14:53 (Chicago, 2019)…….USA
26.. Turner Wiley.. 2:17:00 (Chicago, 2019)…….USA
27..Brett Lustgarten……. 2:17:18 (Sacramento, 2018)……USA
28.. Kurt Roeser .. 2:17:59 (Sacramento, 2018)……USA
29..Oscar Medina …. 2:18:45 (Chicago, 2019)…….USA
30.. Reed Fischer…….. 2:24:48 (Atlanta, 2020)..USA
31..Clayton Young….. 2:29:46 (Atlanta, 2020)..USA
32.. Abdisamed Abdi …….Debut …….USA
33..Ben Kendell…Debut …….USA
34.. Ian La Mere ……..Debut …….USA
35.. Zach Panning…….Debut……..USA
36..Gonzalo Parra ….Debut…….MEX
37..Jacob Thomson..Debut……..USA
And women’s elite field.
Bib Name Personal best Country
102…… Ruth Chepngetich …. 2:17:08 (Dubai, 2019)….KEN
103…… Sara Hall……… 2:20:32 (Chandler AZ, 2020)……USA
104…… Vivian Kiplagat…. 2:21:11 (Abu Dhabi, 2019)..KEN
105…… Keira D’Amato …. 2:22:56 (Chandler AZ, 2020)……USA
106……Meseret Belete.. 2:24:54 (Houston, 2020)……ETH
107…… Emma Bates …… 2:25:27 (Chicago, 2019)…….USA
108……Diane Nukuri…….. 2:27:50 (London, 2015)……..USA
109…… Lindsay Flanagan…… 2:28:08 (Chicago, 2019)…….USA
110……Bria Wetsch …….. 2:29:50 (Chandler AZ, 2020)……USA
111……Michele Lee .. 2:30:31 (Sacramento, 2018)……USA
112…… Alia Gray……… 2:30:41 (Chandler AZ, 2020)……USA
113……Carrie Dimof…….. 2:30:54 (Sacramento, 2017)……USA
114……Daiana Ocampo……… 2:31:33 (Vienna, 2020)…ARG
116……Maegan Krifchin…….. 2:32:47 (Sacramento, 2018)……USA
117…… Tristin Van Ord… 2:32:56 (Duluth, 2021)…USA
118…… Whitney Macon.. 2:33:21 (Chandler AZ, 2020)……USA
119……Jane Bareikis…….. 2:33:54 (Duluth, 2021)…USA
120…… Polina Hodnette……… 2:35:41 (Sacramento, 2020)……USA
121…… Kate Bazeley…….. 2:36:35 (Toronto, 2019) …….CAN
122……Chirine Njeim…… 2:36:40 (Oregon, 2021)……..LBN
123……Georgia Porter…. 2:36:52 (Frankfurt, 2019) ….USA
124…… Anne-Marie Blaney …Debut……..USA
125……Megan O’Neil ……Debut……..USA
126…… Sarah Pagano……Debut……..USA
127……Olivia Pratt…..Debut……..USA
128……Carrie Verdon ……Debut……..USA
129……Jessica Watychowicz…….Debut……..USA
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MB: Chicago adds 17 elites (14 withdraw) to its 2021 lineup the week of the race .