16 Boston Marathon Champions Will Return For 2020 Race
BOSTON (CBS) -- The 2020 Boston Marathon is sure to be a competitive one, with 16 champions returning for the April 20 race. John Hancock and the Boston Athletic Association announced Tuesday that eight open marathon champions and eight wheelchair champions will be competing again.
"In our 35th year as principal sponsor of this historic race, we are excited to welcome back our accomplished champions," said John Hancock chief marketing officer Barbara Goose. "Their return is a testimony to the tradition and legacy that is the Boston Marathon. These champions are not just racing each other, they are chasing history."
Among those returning for the 124th race are 2019 Boston Marathon open champions Lawrence Cherono and Worknesh Degefa and wheelchair champions Manuela Schär and Daniel Romanchuk.
"I loved every mile of this race and fought until the end to achieve the first place and become part of the elite family to have won the most prestigious race of the world," Chernono said. "I look forward to being at the start line of the 2020 edition."
Two-time Olympian and 2018 open marathon champion Desiree Linden will both return for the marathon and race in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
Other open marathon champions returning include Lelisa Desisa, Geoffrey Kirui, Yuki Kawauchi, Edna Kiplagat and Caroline Rotich. Other returning wheelchair champions include Marcel Hug, Ernst van Dyk, Joshua Cassidy, Masazumi Soejima, Hiroyuki Yamamoto and Tatyana McFadden.