Meb Keflezighi Will Run One Last Boston Marathon

Photo via AP

On the day of his 2014 Boston Marathon victory, Meb Keflezighi simultaneously became the first American man to win the race since 1983, and the first male winner after the 2013 bombings. This year, he’ll bid farewell to the race that cemented his place in the hearts of Bostonians.

John Hancock Financial announced Wednesday that Keflezighi, who is also an Olympic silver medalist and a past New York Marathon champion, will return to Heartbreak Hill in 2017, before he marks his retirement with the 2017 New York Marathon. Boston will be his 25th competitive marathon, and New York his symbolic 26th.

“You come to Boston to be a part of history and to make history,” Keflezighi said in a statement. “I look forward to joining the elite athletes that John Hancock has assembled and the special group of Boston Qualifiers in the most prestigious marathon in the world.”

The elite field will also include 2016 winners Atsede Baysa and Lemi Berhanu Hayle, as well as 2015 female winner Caroline Rotich and Buzunesh Deba, who was named the 2014 women’s winner in the wake of Rita Jeptoo’s disqualification. Wesley Korir, who won his 2012 Boston Marathon debut, will also race next Marathon Monday.

The full American elite field will be announced later in December, and the entire elite lineup will be announced in January.