AWMM leaders headline 2015 TCS New York City Marathon elite field

NEW YORK Kenyan powerhouse athletes and World Marathon Majors Series champions Wilson Kipsang and Mary Keitany will return to defend their TCS New York City Marathon titles and lead a deep elite field for the Nov. 1, 2015 marathon, it was announced by Peter Ciaccia, president of events for New York Road Runners and race director of the TCS New York City Marathon.

Kipsang, 33, secured the 2013-2014 World Marathon Majors Series title with his first-place finish at the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon. He earned a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympic Marathon and has run under 2:05 six times�the most in history.

The former marathon world-record holder ran his personal best of 2:03:23 to win the 2013 Berlin Marathon. Kipsang won the London Marathon in 2013 and 2014, the latter in a course record of 2:04:29, and placed second at the same event in 2015.

�"My training is going very well and I am very happy to come back to race the streets of New York City again and defend my title," said Kipsang.

Keitany, the champion of the 2011-2012 World Marathon Majors series, won the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon with a time of 2:25:07, improving upon her third-place performances in 2010 and 2011. She finished second at the 2015 London Marathon and won two consecutive London Marathons (2011, 2012), the latter in 2:18:37, making her the second-fastest performer in history. On Sunday, Keitany, 33, won the 2015 Great North Run by four minutes in 1:07:32.

�"I am happy and proud to go back to New York to defend my title," said Keitany. �"To be the defending champion is a great honor, but also a big responsibility for me. Therefore, I have been doing my own preparation since June to ensure that I will reach the best shape possible to perform even better than last year in order to make my supporters happy, who will be watching me run in the streets of New York."

Joining Kipsang in the men's field will be American marathon icon, 2014 Boston Marathon and 2009 New York City Marathon champion Meb Keflezighi, who will run as an NYRR Team for Kids Ambassador for the second consecutive year. Also racing will be 2014 runner-up Lelisa Desisa, winner of this year's Boston Marathon, and 2014 third-place finisher Gebre Gebremariam, both of Ethiopia, as well as previously announced IAAF World Championships 10,000-meter silver-medalist Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya.

�"I am so excited to announce that I will be back in the Big Apple for my 10th TCS New York City Marathon this November," said Keflezighi. �"The New York Road Runners has been a great source of support throughout my career. I love supporting this great organization and race. This year, I will once again serve as a Team for Kids Ambassador."

�"We're thrilled to welcome back our defending champion Wilson Kipsang, along with Meb Keflezighi, America's top marathoner, and this year's Boston Marathon champion, Lelisa Desisa, for the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon," said Ciaccia. �"Fans lining the 26.2-mile route across the city will get to see the world's top marathoners, many of whom will be running for their home countries in the 2016 Olympic Games next summer in Rio. This is one of our most exciting fields in years and a key race in the Abbott World Marathon Majors Series IX.

On the women's side, 2011 World and 2012 Olympic 10,000-meter silver medalist Sally Kipyego of Kenya will make her marathon debut. In addition, 2015 IAAF World Marathon silver medalist Helah Kiprop and 2015 Boston Marathon champion Caroline Rotich, both of Kenya, as well as 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon champion Tigist Tufa of Ethiopia, will race in New York.

"We are excited to welcome an extremely talented women's field of marathon veterans, including our defending champion Mary Keitany, and newcomers to the marathon distance, including Sally Kipyego and Laura Thweatt, to the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon," said Ciaccia. �"Along with Helah Kiprop, Caroline Rotich, and Tigist Tufa, this star-powered field will lead the way for a community of 50,000 runners along an amazing journey through the five boroughs of New York City."

Kamworor, 22, won the gold medal at both the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the 2014 IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships and earned the 2015 world outdoor 10,000-meter silver medal; he is only the third person in history to accomplish such a feat. In his marathon debut at the 2012 Berlin Marathon, he finished third in 2:06:12; at the same event in 2013 and 2014 he finished third and fourth, respectively. In 2013, he ran a 58:54 at the RAK Half-Marathon, becoming the ninth-fastest performer of all time and the fastest half-marathoner that year.

Desisa, 25, finished as the runner-up at the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon and is a two-time Boston Marathon champion (2013, 2015), making him the only Ethiopian man to attain two Boston Marathon victories. In 2013, he earned a silver medal at the IAAF World Marathon Championships and won the Dubai Marathon; he placed second at the 2015 Dubai Marathon.

Gebremariam, 31, won the 2010 New York City Marathon in 2:08:14 in his marathon debut; he finished third in 2014 and fourth in 2011. He is the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country champion and finished third at both the 2011 and 2013 Boston Marathons. Gebremariam, a two-time Olympian, was the 2011 NYC Half runner-up and won the 2010 UAE Healthy Kidney 10K.

Kipyego, 29, who lives and trains in Eugene, OR, earned a silver medal in the 10,000 meters at both the 2011 IAAF World Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 2012 Olympics, where she also finished fourth in the 5000 meters. In 2014, she was the fastest 10,000-meter runner in the world and won the NYC Half in an event-record 1:08:31. Kipyego won nine NCAA Division I titles while at Texas Tech University, tied for the most in history. She has also impressed at the shorter distances in New York, finishing second at the 2011 NYRR 5th Avenue Mile, third and fourth at the 2011 and 2013 NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K, respectively, and won the 3000 meters at the 2015 NYRR Millrose Games.

�"I'm very excited to be making my marathon debut in New York this year," said Kipyego. �"I have had great opportunities to race over different distances on the streets of New York and I look forward to this new distance. The distance is definitely daunting but I'm grateful to New York Road Runners for giving me the opportunity a few years ago to ride on the lead car, which was a fantastic way to check out the course. I'm simply thrilled, but nervous at the same time."

For more information about the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon elite field, visit http://www.nyrr.org/media-<wbr>center/press-releases.