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John Hancock Financial Announces 2013 Elite Field

BOSTON, MA, January 15, 2013 - In its 28th year as principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon, John Hancock Financial today announced the elite field for the 117th running of the Boston Marathon on April 15. A complete field list follows.

EDITOR'S NOTE - As of March 28, John Hancock has updated its Field List for the John Hancock Elite Athlete Team. Additions to the elite field include Tirfi Tsegaye Beyene, Lelisa Desisa Benti, Laban Korir, and Deriba Merga.

   Tirfi Tsegaye Beyene set a course record in Paris last year before finishing runner-up in Berlin in a personal best 2:21:19. This past January, she won the Dubai Marathon and has finished on the podium in ten career marathons.
   Lelisa Desisa Benti made his marathon debut in Dubai this year and won the race in 2:04:45. A young talent, Benti won the 10,000m at the African Junior Athletics Championships in 2009 and won the gold medal in the half marathon at the All-Africa Games in 2011. 
   Laban Korir was runner-up in Amsterdam in 2011, finishing in 2:06:05. He ran the Boston Marathon last year and placed sixth.
   Former Boston Marathon champion Deriba Merga, of Ethiopia, is a late addition to the field. Merga won the Boston Marathon in 2009 and placed
   third in 2010.  He is an All-African gold medalist in the half marathon and was fourth in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Marathon. In 2012, he finished second at the New York City Half Marathon in 59:48 and has run under one hour in the half marathon eight times. This year, he finished second in the Houston Half Marathon in January and fourth at the Paris Half Marathon in March. His marathon personal best time is 2:06:38.

Cancellations in the women�s field include Asefelech Mergia Medessa and Karolina Jarzynska due to lack of fitness.

Cancellations in the men�s field include Moses Mosop, Ryan Hall, Shami Dawit, Eric Gillis, Lucas Rotich, and Guar Marial due to injury. Mosop sustained a calf injury that has prevented necessary speed-work preparation. Hall missed crucial training due to a quadriceps strain. Marial dropped due to a foot injury sustained in a recent race.

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