Abraham and McClammer withdraw from London Marathon 2017 line-ups
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08
04
2017

Abraham and McClammer withdraw from London Marathon 2017 line-ups ©Virgin Money London Marathon

Abraham and McClammer withdraw from London Marathon 2017 line-ups

By admin 0
Updated elite entry lists for the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon on 23 April are now available on the Media Resources page of the event’s website, but they no longer include the names of Tadesse Abraham and Chelsea McClammer who have been forced to withdraw from their respective races.

Abraham was aiming to become the first European since 2003 to claim a podium place in the men’s elite event after finishing seventh at the Rio Olympic Games and coming within four seconds of breaking the European marathon record last year.

The Eritrean-born Swiss enjoyed the most successful year of his career in 2016 when he lowered his personal best to 2:06:40 and won half marathon gold at the European Championships.

The 34-year-old former refugee was hoping to continue his rise through the world ranks at this year’s London Marathon but has had to pull out after sustaining a stress fracture in his hip.

Abraham was due to face Ethiopian great Kenenisa Bekele, who ran the second fastest marathon in history last September. Bekele tops a field for the 37th London Marathon that includes seven men who have run quicker than 2:06, two marathon world champions and three of the top five finishers from last summer’s Olympic Games.

McClammer also had her best season in 2016 when she ranked second in the world for her class and won three track medals at the Rio Paralympics. The 23-year-old wheelchair racer finished seventh in last year’s women’s elite race, won for the fourth time by her US teammate Tatyana McFadden.

McClammer has opted to skip the London Marathon this year to concentrate on her physiology exams at the University of Illinois.

McFadden does return to London, though, where she will seek to make history as the first athlete in any race to win five London Marathon titles in a row.

Switzerland’s Paralympic champion Marcel Hug leads the field for the men’s wheelchair race where he will defend his title against Britain’s David Weir and course record holder Kurt Fearnley of Australia.

The women’s elite line-up is also headed by a defending champion as Jemima Sumgong returns to the scene of her dramatic triumph in 2016. The Kenyan took the honours a year ago while bleeding from her head and shoulder after falling earlier in the race.

She went on to win the Olympic title and will start as favourite this year in a field that’s been billed as one of the best ever.

Updated line-ups for all the World Para Athletics Marathon World Cup races are also available. Four of last year’s champions will defend their titles, although Brazil’s Aniceto Antonio dos Santos, who won the T13 race last year, has had to withdraw.

Go to the Media Resources page of the London Marathon website to see the full line-ups for all the 2017 races.

Source: Virgin Money London Marathon

author: admin