US standouts Meb Keflezighi and Abdi Abdirahman joined the entry list for the New York Marathon on Tuesday while Irishman Martin Fagan and two-time winner Jelena Prokopcuka dropped out.Organizers announced the changes ahead of the November 1 race, losing Fagan to an Achilles injury and Latvia's Prokopcuka, the 2005 and 2006 winner, because she is pregnant.
Keflezighi, 34, was the runner-up in the 2004 Athens Olympic marathon and 2004 New York Marathon and third in the New York race in 2005.
Abdirahman, 32, is a three-time Olympian whose best showing in three New York starts was fifth in 2005.
No US man has won the New York Marathon title since Alberto Salazar in 1982 while no US woman has won the event since Miki Gorman in 1977.
The men's field includes defending champion Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil and prior winners Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa, Paul Tergat of Kenya and Martin Lel of Kenya.
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