The clock's a second off, but no matter - Robert Cheruiyot celebrates his course record at the Boston Marathon (© Getty Images)
Boston, USATwotime champion Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot of Kenya and last year’s runner-up Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia will headline the 111th running of the Boston marathon on 16 April 2007.
Cheruiyot and Prokopcuka have chosen to compete in Boston to reinforce their commanding lead in the prestigious World Marathon Majors series and move closer to sharing the million-dollar prize awarded at the end of the year.
Cheruiyot is the reigning Boston and Chicago Marathon champion, earning the distinction as the only man to have ever won both marathons in the same year. In Boston last year, Cheruiyot claimed the course record in 2:07:14. He also won Boston in 2003 and the Milan City Marathon in 2002.
“Boston is always an exciting race to compete in and I'd like to thank John Hancock for welcoming me back to run again against a highly competitive field," said Cheruiyot.
Last year’s women’s runner-up in Boston and two-time New York City champion, Jelena Prokopcuka, will be racing for the crown after placing second last year and fourth in 2004. Prokopcuka has competed for Latvia in the past three Olympics and is a multiple national record-holder on the track and roads. At the Osaka Marathon in 2005, she secured the win with a national record of 2:22:56. At New York the past two years, she was the undisputed leader despite being challenged by the world’s best runners.
"By bringing top runners like Robert and Jelena back to the race year after year, John Hancock helps ensure the Boston Marathon remains one of the world's premier road races now and in the future," said John D. DesPrez III, President and Chief Executive Officer of John Hancock Financial Services which is in its 22nd year as the major sponsor of the Boston Marathon.
The Boston Marathon is the oldest annually active marathon in the world, first held in 1897. Race champions include most of the sport's greatest runners: Bill Rodgers, Rosa Mota, Ingrid Kristiansen, Toshihiko Seko, Fatuma Roba, Cosmas Ndeti, Joan Samuelson and Catherine Ndereba. The event will host the U.S. Women's Marathon Championships this year.
Brian Carmichael for the IAAF
