DAVILA OUT OF BOSTON MARATHON
By David Monti
(c) 2012 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
(used with permission)
(28-Dec) -- Olympic marathoner Desiree Davila has withdrawn
from the 2013 Boston Marathon, organizers said today.
Davila, 29, from Rochester Hills, Mich., has been dealing with
a "slow-healing femoral stress fracture of the right leg," according
to a joint statement released by the Boston Athletic Association, which
owns and manages the race, and John Hancock Financial, which funds the
elite field. This is the same injury which forced Davila to drop out of
the London Olympic Marathon before the 5-K mark in her first Olympic appearance.
"Keeping my long term goals in mind, I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the running of the 2013 Boston Marathon," Davila said through a prepared
statement. "At this time it is in my best interest to fully focus on recovering from my injury and gradually rebuilding my fitness. Having a major race
scheduled, which I am very passionate about, will only serve to rush the process and as all marathoners know there are no shortcuts -- in training or recovery."
Davila earned her Olympic Team berth at last January's USA Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston where she finished second to Shalane Flanagan (Kara Goucher was
third). Boston organizers had recruited the entire team shortly after the Trials; Flanagan and Goucher remain in the race.
A member of the Brooks Hansons team, Davila is the fastest American ever at the Boston Marathon where she clocked 2:22:38 to finish second in 2011.
"I'd like to thank John Hancock for the opportunity and their understanding," Davila concluded. "I look forward to racing on the roads of Boston again in the
future."
PHOTO: Desiree Davila finishing second in the 2011 Boston Marathon