NEW YORK CITY MARATHON EXPANDS FIELD WITH BOSTON, LONDON CHAMPIONS

Organizers of the ING New York City Marathon announced that they had expanded their professional athlete fields to include Boston Marathon champions Geoffrey Mutai and Caroline Kilel, plus Virgin London Marathon champion Mary Keitany, all of Kenya.In doing so, New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg has captured the fastest male and female marathoners of 2011 and six of the 12 podium finishers from Boston and London.

In addition, Wittenberg has signed Buzunesh Deba, the fast-rising, New York-based Ethiopian who won four marathons last year, and won both the Honda L.A. Marathon and Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathons this year, and her compatriot Tsegaye Kebede, one of the world's most decorated marathoners with bronze medals from both the 2008 Olympics and 2009 World Championships.

"We have a star-studded international field for the ING New York City Marathon 2011 that brings together an incredible lineup of champions from this year's Boston, London, and L.A. marathons," Wittenberg commented through a news release. "What a treat to have Geoffrey Mutai, who ran the fastest time ever recorded for a marathon at Boston this year, in the race, along with Buzunesh Deba, this year's L.A. winner, here again to compete in the city she lives and trains in."

Mutai, 29, won last April's Boston Marathon in a time of 2:03:02, the fastest time ever recorded for a certified marathon. Since then, he has been unbeatable on the roads, winning the B.A.A. 10-K in Boston on June 26, in 27:19, and the Giro Podistico Internazionale di Castelbuono 10-K in Sicily on July 26, in 29:05. Mutai --not to be confused with London champion Emmanuel Mutai who is also running in New York-- will be competing in his first ING New York City Marathon.

Kilel, 30, won the 2011 Boston Marathon by two seconds in a personal best time of 2:22:36 after a thrilling stretch duel with American Desiree Davila. Kilel has also recorded marathon victories in Frankfurt (2010), Ljubljana (2009), Taipei (2008), and Nairobi (2005) amongst others. Like Mutai, she will be making her New York City Marathon debut.

Keitany, 29, won the 2011 Virgin London Marathon in a personal best time of 2:19:19, the fastest time in the world this year. She finished third at the ING New York City Marathon last year in her debut at the distance and is also the world record holder at the half marathon (1:05:50) and 25-K (1:19:53).

Kebede, 24, has won Fukuoka twice (2008 and 2009), Paris in 2008 and London in 2010. He has a 2:05:18 personal best, and will be making his ING New York City Marathon debut.

Other athletes announced were Galina Bogomolova of Russia (2:20:47 PB) and Isabellah Andersson of Sweden (2:23:41 NR). Wittenberg also announced that Martin Lel, a two-time New York and London marathon champion, was forced to withdraw due to an injury.

The ING New York City Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, November 6, is the world's largest marathon (the 2010 edition had 44,980 finishers). The race features a guaranteed prize money purse of $650,000, plus a rich schedule of time bonuses which are not place-restricted.