World Championships Medalists Gotytom Gebreslase, Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, and Hellen Obiri to Join Women’s Field at 2022 TCS New York City Marathon on November 6

This is the official release from the TCS New York City Marathon for the 2022 race. We have covered the NYC Marathon since 1990. In full transparency, I ran the 1986 NYC Marathon. 

The NYC Marathon began in 1970. It was run as a lap course around Central Park from 1970 to 1975. In 1976, and as a one-time event, the NYC Marathon was proposed to run through the Five Boroughs of New York. It was an immediate success, and the one-year experiment became a leading global marathon.

The NYC Marathon has been held every year since 1970, with the exception of 2012, when it was canceled at the last minute due to Hurricane Katrina. In that year, many thousands ran the race unofficially. This writer remembers walking around Central Park to see thousands running the marathon course.

In 2020, due to the pandemic, the race was canceled and held as a virtual race. The race came back in 2021 but was limited to 33,000 runners.

This release is on the 2022 race, which looks like it will be much closer to non-pandemic years.

World Championships Medalists Gotytom Gebreslase, Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, and Hellen Obiri to Join Women’s Field at 2022 TCS New York City Marathon on November 6

Sara Hall, Emma Bates, Aliphine Tuliamuk, Des Linden, Nell Rojas, and Stephanie Bruce to anchor a star-studded contingent of American women

Defending wheelchair division champion Madison de Rozario to be challenged by Manuela Schär, Tatyana McFadden, and Susannah Scaroni.

New York, August 10, 2022 – World Championships medalists Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia, Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Israel, and Hellen Obiri of Kenya will join previously announced New York City and Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir in the women’s professional athlete division at this year’s TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 6. All three will make their TCS New York City Marathon debuts, with Obiri making her 26.2-mile debut across any course, and will line up against a star-studded contingent of American women that includes Sara Hall, and Emma Bates, Aliphine Tuliamuk, Des Linden, Nell Rojas, and Stephanie Bruce. The 2022 TCS New York City Marathon women’s professional athlete field is presented by Mastercard®.

Women’s Open Division

Fresh off her victory at the world championships marathon, where she finished the course in a championship-record time of 2:18:11, Gebreslase will make New York City her next stop. She will look to add a five-borough title to her resume, having previously won the 2021 Berlin Marathon and finished third at the 2022 Tokyo Marathon.

“Winning the World Championships was like a dream, and I am honored to run my next marathon in New York City,” Gebreslase said. “It’s home to the biggest marathon in the world, and many of the top athletes have run there. I understand it’s a challenging course, and I’m looking forward to seeing further success there.”

Two-time Olympian Salpeter, a Kenyan-born Israeli who won the bronze medal at the world championships marathon and was the 2020 Tokyo Marathon winner, will challenge Gebreslase once again. Obiri, a two-time Olympic medalist and seven-time individual world championships medalist, will make her highly anticipated marathon debut shortly after winning a world championships silver over 10,000 meters.

“I’m very excited to make my marathon debut at the TCS New York City Marathon,” Obiri said. “I have watched the race many times on TV and have seen my Kenyan colleagues compete there. I know New York is a tough course, but I hope my experience on track, road, and cross-country will help me navigate the ups and downs. I also plan to get advice and tips from coach Dathan Ritzenhein, who competed in the race several times in the past.”

In addition to Jepchirchir, the group will be racing against Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi, who will look to become the first athlete to win the United Airlines NYC Half, Mastercard New York Mini 10K, and TCS New York City Marathon in one year. Three other Kenyans will also be strong contenders for podium places, including the 2010 New York City, 2014 London, and 2017 Boston Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat, last year’s runner-up Viola Cheptoo and newcomer Sharon Lokedi.

The American effort will be led by 10-time national champion Hall, who was the top world championship marathon finisher from the U.S. last month in Oregon, where she placed fifth. She is also the former half marathon national record holder, the runner-up from the 2020 London Marathon, and a two-time winner of the Mastercard New York Mini 10K. She will be joined at the Staten Island start line by Bates, who clocked a personal best to finish seventh at the world championships and was the runner-up at last year’s Chicago Marathon.

“From winning the Millrose mile to back-to-back Mini 10K wins, most of my favorite career moments have happened in NYC,” Hall said. “I’m all-in to add to that by having my best marathon yet at the TCS New York City Marathon. I can’t wait to be back racing my heart out in the five boroughs of my favorite city.”

Tokyo 2020 Olympian Aliphine Tuliamuk and two-time Olympian and 2018 Boston Marathon champion Des Linden will also return to New York, as will national champion Stephanie Bruce, who will race the five boroughs for the final time before retiring. The deep U.S. women’s group will additionally include Nell Rojas, the top American finisher from the last two Boston Marathons, Lindsay Flanagan, the top American finisher from the 2022 United Airlines NYC Half, Annie Frisbie, last year’s seventh-place finisher, and her training partner Dakotah Lindwurm, who won Grandma’s Marathon in June. Emily Durgin, the sixth-fastest U.S. half marathoner of all time, will make her marathon debut.

Women’s Wheelchair Division

De Rozario will return to defend her wheelchair division crown after winning her first TCS New York City Marathon last year, becoming the first athlete to win Paralympic marathon gold and New York in the same year since 2008. The five-time Paralympic medalist and 10-time world championships medalist also won the 2018 London Marathon and the Commonwealth Games marathon twice, including last month in Birmingham.

“Winning my first TCS New York City Marathon last year was an incredible experience, and I’m thrilled to return to defend my title against the best athletes in the world,” de Rozario said. “From Paralympic gold to Commonwealth Games gold, everything has been lining up well for me over the past year, and I’m excited to see what I’m capable of now that I’m even more familiar with the New York course.”

De Rozario will face stiff competition from 20-time Paralympic medalist Tatyana McFadden of the United States, who will be going for her record-breaking sixth title at the event after finishing as runner-up last year, as well as eight-time Paralympic medalist Manuela Schär of Switzerland, who will be racing for her fourth title. Schär has made the podium in all seven of her New York City appearances, and McFadden has made the podium in 10 of her 11 appearances.

The United States Susannah Scaroni, a two-time Paralympic medalist, will be looking for her first title after missing the event last year following a training collision on the roads. She has been on the podium 12 times at Abbott World Marathon Majors races but has never finished first. Already this year, she won her fourth consecutive Mastercard New York Mini 10K, broke the 5,000-meter world record on the track, and clocked a world’s best time of 1:27:31 at Grandma’s Marathon.

The course-record bonus for the professional wheelchair division will be raised to $50,000 this year, making the wheelchair division bonus equal to the open division bonus.

The 2022 TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 6, will return at full capacity with 50,000 runners and be televised live on WABC-TV Channel 7 in the New York tri-state area, throughout the rest of the nation on ESPN2, and around the world by various international broadcasters.

Professional Athlete Field –  Women’s Open Division

Professional Athlete Field – Women’s Wheelchair Division