Ten top Team USA hopefuls for the 2016 Summer Olympics will participate head-to-head in the Duo to Rio Relay sponsored by AT&T on Dallas Marathon race day this December 13. Dathan Ritzenhein - previously announced as a Duo to Rio Relay competitor - will not be running in Dallas, as he recovers from a nagging hip injury. American runner Sam Chelanga will fill the spot vacated by Ritzenhein in the male elite field in the Dallas Marathon’s Duo to Rio Relay, race officials announced today. 

 

For more information, visit dallasmarathon.com.

 

Chelanga, 30, is the 2015 USATF 10-Mile champion and a two-time defending champion in the US National 12K road race, which he won in a time 34:34.53 in November. Originally from Kenya, Chelanga became a naturalized USA citizen in August 2015 and will compete at the Olympic Trials in February for Team USA spots in the marathon or 10,000m. Chelanga was a four-time NCAA champion and collegiate record holder in the 10,000m. He lives and trains in Tuscon, Arizona. 

 

Ten Team USA Olympic hopefuls will be paired in male-female teams, running to determine which pair can complete the 26.2-mile Dallas Marathon course the fastest. The male elites will run the first 13.1 miles of the marathon course and handoff to the female competitors who will compete the second half marathon leg of the course. The 45th running of the Dallas Marathon will start and finish in downtown Dallas, with a course highlighting the most entertaining neighborhoods and iconic landmarks in the city of Dallas. Participating American athletes include Abdi Abdirahman, Annie Bersagel, Sam Chelanga, Molly Huddle, Desi Linden, Luke Puskedra, Dallas-local Becky Wade, Jared Ward and previously announced Dallas Marathon elite ambassadors Meb Keflezighi and Deena Kastor.