OTTAWA – The 2011 Virgin London Marathon released today the list of elite athletes who will take part in the event on April 17, 2011. Touted as the best ever, the field includes reigning champions Tsegaye Kebede and Liliya Shobukhova. Two Canadians will be on the start line come April 17, Reid Coolsaet of Hamilton, ON and Eric Gillis of Antigonish, NS, both members of the Guelph Speed River club.
Reid Coolsaet
Reid Coolsaet was the top Canadian (10th overall) at this year’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2:11:23, just sneaking under the Olympic standard of 2:11:29. Reid is the 2009 Canadian Champion in the marathon. Eric Gillis finished just behind Coolsaet in 2:12:06, good for 11th overall.
Coolsaet and Gillis are attending the Virgin London Marathon as a continuation of the Endurance/Marathon project between the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Ottawa Race Weekend and Athletics Canada. The project saw a men’s Canadian team entry in the World Cup held as part of the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. The program will culminate with the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
The men’s and women’s line-ups are a who’s who of marathon running, featuring the top five in from the 2010 event, both Olympic and world champions, World Marathon Majors champions, and recent winners in Berlin, Chicago and New York.
Elite athletes and their best marathon times
Men
Tsegaye Kebede ETH 2:05:18
Patrick Makau KEN 2:04:48
Samuel Wanjiru KEN 2:05:10
Abel Kirui KEN 2:05:04
Bazu Worku ETH 2:05:25
Jaouad Gharib MAR 2:05:27
Emmanuel Mutai KEN 2:06:15
Viktor Röthlin SUI 2:07:23
Abderrahime Bouramdane MAR 2:07:33
Yonas Kifle ERI 2:07:34
José Manuel Martinez ESP 2:08:09
Marilson Gomes dos Santos BRA 2:08:37
Dmitry Safronov RUS 2:10:12
Reid Coolsaet CAN 2:11:23
Eric Gillis CAN 2:12:08
Cuthbert Nyasango ZIM 2:12:40
Mike Shelley AUS 2:13:05
Michael Aish USA 2:13:21
Andrew Lemoncello GBR 2:13:40
Collis Birmingham AUS Debut
Mohamed Trafeh USA Debut
Women
Liliya Shobukhova RUS 2:20:25
Zhou Chunxiu CHN 2:19:51
Irina Mikitenko GER 2:19:19
Constantina Dita ROU 2:21:30
Askale Tafa ETH 2:21:31
Inga Abitova RUS 2:22:19
Lornah Kiplagat NED 2:22:22
Aselefech Mergia ETH 2:22:38
Bezunesh Bekele ETH 2:23:09
Mara Yamauchi GBR 2:23:12
Bai Xue CHN 2:23:27
Mariya Konovalova RUS 2:23:50
Xiaolin Zhu CHN 2:23:57
Aberu Kebede ETH 2:23:58
Yukiko Akaba JPN 2:24:55
Edna Kiplagat KEN 2:25:38
Magdalena Lewy Boulet USA 2:26:22
Liz Yelling GBR 2:28:33
Lisa Weightman AUS 2:28:48
Mary Keitany KEN 2:29:01
Fiona Docherty NZL 2:32:17
Tanith Maxwell RSA 2:32:33
Jo Pavey GBR Debut
Jessica Augusto POR Debut
Nikki Chapple AUS Debut