Defending TCS NYC Marathon women's champion withdraws from race this year

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Last year's TCS New York City Marathon women's champion Priscah Jeptoo has withdrawn from this year's race on Nov. 2 due to leg injuries.

"I am very disappointed that I will not be able to defend my New York City Marathon title this year," said Jeptoo. "Unfortunately, the injury I suffered at London in April was more serious than I thought and took me a long time to recover from. I am now 100-percent healthy, but the remaining time I have will not allow me to be ready to honor the race and my title the way I should for such a great event. I tried the last three weeks, but realized my top fitness is far away. I will refocus my training to be ready for next season and come back to New York next year in top form."

Current Virgin Money London Marathon runner-up Stanley Biwott has also dropped out of this year's TCS NYC Marathon due to leg injuries. Both Biwott and Jeptoo are from Kenya.

Last year, 50,266 runners crossed the finish line of the New York City Marathon, making it the world's largest marathon ever. Runners from more than 100 countries and each of the 50 states participated.

The TCS New York City Marathon on Nov. 2 will be broadcast live in the New York City metropolitan area on WABC-TV from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. EST. Viewers can also watch the race on 7online or via WatchABC on mobile devices. Pre-race features from the start at Fort Wadsworth will be broadcast live at 7:00 a.m. and a national highlights show will air from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on local ABC affiliates.

The race will also be televised live nationally on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes+ from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST. It will also be available for video subscribers on WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app. Additional coverage will be streaming live on ESPN3 via WatchESPN from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. EST and from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. EST.