FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Inaugural World Marathon Majors Series to Conclude
at ING New York City Marathon
Champions to be honored on November 5
NEW YORK CITY – Nearly two years have passed since organizers of the
Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City marathons announced the
formation of the World Marathon Majors (WMM), and 10 events, including the
IAAF World Championships, have been run since the WMM Series was launched
at the 2006 Boston Marathon. Just one race – the 2007 ING New York City
Marathon – remains before the inaugural WMM Series champions will be
presented with their share of the $1 million jackpot at a special luncheon
on November 5.
Remarkably, after 10 events – and 262 miles of racing – the women's WMM
Series champion has yet to be decided. Of the 32 women who have earned WMM
points, just two remain in contention for the title: Gete Wami (ETH) and
Jelena Prokopcuka (LAT). With $500,000 at stake, in addition to the ING New
York City Marathon prize purse, the two women will race head-to-head
through the streets of New York. A win for either would clinch the title,
but anything less than victory opens up an intriguing number of potential
results.
Wami leads with 65 points; however she will be running New York on short
rest, having won Berlin just five weeks earlier. Prokopcuka, meanwhile,
trails Wami by 10 points on the leaderboard but will be fully rested and
looking for her third consecutive victory in the Big Apple. Neither woman
will have an easy road to victory, however, as the New York field includes,
among others, Boston champion Lidiya Grigoryeva (RUS), world champion
Catherine Ndereba (KEN), and world record holder Paula Radcliffe (GBR).
There are 31 different scoring scenarios between Wami and Prokopcuka, three
of which involve a tie atop the leaderboard. In the event of a tie,
head-to-head competition in WMM events would be the first tie breaker.
Prokopcuka therefore holds the advantage in case of a tie since she and
Wami will be racing head-to-head for the first time in New York. Of course,
that is but one of the many possible scenarios that could play out. Among
the others:
If Prokopcuka wins New York, she wins the WMM Series;
If Prokopcuka is runner-up in New York and Wami places fourth or lower,
Prokopcuka wins the WMM Series;
If Prokopcuka places third in New York and Wami is outside of the top
five, Prokopcuka wins the WMM Series.
All other scoring scenarios would result in Wami clinching the WMM
Series.
For a complete breakdown of the different scenarios, please see the
attached spreadsheet.
On the men's side the picture is far simpler. Robert K. Cheruiyot (KEN)
took the early Series lead with a win at the 2006 Boston Marathon and has
never looked back. Subsequent victories in Chicago and again in Boston
solidified his hold on the top spot, and a fourth-place finish in Chicago
earlier this month clinched the WMM Series title. Trailing Cheruiyot's 80
point total is Haile Gebrselassie (ETH), who twice won the real,-Berlin
Marathon to earn his 50 points. Entered in the 2007 ING New York City
Marathon are Martin Lel (KEN; 3rd, 40 pts.), Stephen Kiogora (KEN; 5th, 25
pts.), and Marilson Gomes dos Santos (BRA; 5th, 25 pts.).
The past two years have been about more than the chase for the WMM title,
however. A total of 71 men and women have earned points in the two-year
series, one world record and 14 national records were established, and one
race after another was decided by a thrilling finish. Among the many
highlights from 2006-2007:
April 17, 2006: Cheruiyot sets a Boston Marathon course record
of 2:07:14.
April 23, 2006: Deena Kastor (USA) joins the elite sub-2:20 club
and sets a new American record of 2:19:36 with her victory in the Flora
London Marathon.
September 24, 2006: Wami earns a share of the WMM Series lead
with a victory in the real,-Berlin Marathon.
October 22, 2006: Cheruiyot takes a commanding WMM Series lead
with his win at The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.
November 5, 2006: Prokopcuka wins her second consecutive ING New
York City Marathon title and assumes the WMM Series lead.
April 16, 2007: Cheruiyot wins his third straight WMM event at
the Boston Marathon.
April 22, 2007: Lel, runner-up by a mere two seconds in 2006,
returns to London and wins by three seconds in another thrilling sprint to
the finish.
September 2, 2007: Ndereba captures her second IAAF World
Championship title. The victory is the eighth of her career in WMM
events.
September 30, 2007: Gebrselassie sets a new world record of
2:04:26 at the real,-Berlin Marathon, while Wami's win vaults her to the
top of the women's leaderboard.
October 7, 2007: Patrick Ivuti (KEN) wins The LaSalle Bank
Chicago Marathon by just five one-hundredths of a second, the closest
finish in WMM history.
The WMM Series is structured in overlapping scoring periods of two years,
so while the 2006-2007 Series is drawing to a close, the 2007-2008 Series
is just reaching its mid-way point. Cheruiyot leads the men with 30 points,
however Lel (2nd, 25 pts.), James Kwambai (KEN; 7th, 15 pts.), Abderrahim
Goumri (MAR; 7th, 15 pts.), and Kiogora (11th, 10 pts.) are each poised to
pass him with a victory in New York.
Much is at stake in New York for the women as well. Six of the top 14 women
on the 2007-2008 leaderboard are entered, with Wami currently in first
place with 40 points. She is followed by Grigoryeva (3rd, 25 pts.), Ndereba
(3rd, 25 pts.), Prokopcuka (6th, 15 pts.), Constantina Tomescu-Dita (ROU;
9th, 10 pts.), and Salina Kosgei (KEN; 14th, 5 pts.).
Athletes will have six chances to score points in 2008 as the WMM Series
will include, for the first time, the Olympic Games in Beijing.
With just one race remaining in the 2006-2007 World Marathon Majors Series,
for complete standings, go to www.worldmarathonmajors.com.
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