Sun Yingjie
Home: Liaonig, China
Age: 23
Personal best: 2:25:45 (Tianjin, 1998)

Consistently with the front runners at major marathons, Sun Yingjie is looking to break the tape in her third Boston appearance. In 2000, Sun stayed with the top two women for 19 miles before finishing eighth in 2:31:22. A year earlier she led through the halfway mark at world-record pace, but by 25 kilometers Fatuma Roba caught her and went on to win. Sun held on to finish 11th. Debuting in 1997 with a 2:32:43 tenth place at the Chinese National Games in Beijing, Sun ran 2:30:10 at the Dalian International Marathon three weeks later for third. In 1998, she placed first at Tianjin in 2:25:45, first at Dalian, and fifth at Beijing. Sun posted three additional top marathon times in 1999 at the Tokyo Marathon (seventh, 2:30:29), the Seville Marathon World Championships (12th, 2:30:12), and the Beijing Marathon (second, 2:31:19). In 2000, after running Boston, she placed second (2:26:36) at the Beijing Marathon and seventh at the New York City Marathon. Last year, Sun competed at the Chinese National Games, placing second in the 10,000 meters in a personal-best 31:49:47 and third in the 5,000 meters in a best 15:02.70. At the Beijing Marathon a month earlier, she finished 11th in 2:29:16.