FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
World Marathon Majors Series Resumes with
$1 Million Prize Purse to be Claimed
Stellar Fields Will Compete at Remaining 2010 WMM Races
BOSTON (September 21, 2010)-A head-to-head battle for the World Marathon
Majors series crown between Samuel Wanjiru and Tesgaye Kebede at the Bank
of America Chicago Marathon next month and the first appearance of world
record-holder Haile Gebrselassie at the ING New York City Marathon in
November highlight the Fall World Marathon Majors campaign that kicks-off
in Berlin this Sunday. The real,- Berlin Marathon resumes the series on
Sunday, September 26, followed by the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on
Sunday, October 10 and will conclude with the ING New York City Marathon on
Sunday, November 7.
Runners have already earned points (25 points for first place, 15 for
second, 10 for third, 5 for fourth, and 1 for fifth) for top-five finishes
in April's B.A.A. Boston Marathon and Virgin London Marathon, as well as
top-five finishers in each of the five marathons in 2009, and at the IAAF
World Championships in Berlin in 2009. Men's and women's winners of the
series will share a $1 million prize purse.
Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru and Ethiopian Tsegaye Kebede currently share the lead
in the men's series with 50 points apiece, while Russia's Liliya Shobukhova
leads the women's field with 60 points, with Germany's Irina Mikitenko
second with 40 points. All four will race in Chicago, along with Robert
Kiprono Cheruiyot who currently sits in sixth place with 26 points. While
the titles are likely to be decided in Chicago, Kenya's Emmanuel Mutai
could come from behind if both Kebede and Wanjiru finish third or lower in
Chicago and Mutai wins in New York. Salina Kosgei, who will toe the line in
New York, is the only woman besides Mikitenko with enough points to
potentially defeat Shobukhova.
Each of the three fall WMM events will host an impressive elite field. At
Berlin, seven men have run faster than 2:07, and three under 2:06. Kenyans
Patrick Makau and Geoffrey Mutai lead the field after running the top two
times in the world this year when they placed first and second at the
Rotterdam Marathon in 2:04:48 and 2:04:55.
In Chicago, besides the WMM contenders, the men's elite field includes
Kenyan Vincent Kipruto who placed third last year and U.S. Olympian Ryan
Hall, who will attempt to break the 2:05:38 American record set by Khalid
Khannouchi in 2002. Hall currently shares 10th place in the WMM series with
20 points. The women's field includes Russians Lidiya Grigoryeva, 2008
Chicago Marathon champion, and Maria Konovalova, U.S. Olympian Magdalena
Lewy-Boulet, British Olympian Liz Yelling, Japanese star Naoko Sakamoto and
up-and-coming U.S. runner Desiree Davila who placed 11th at the 2009 IAAF
World Championships Marathon.
New York features one of the deepest elite fields ever, highlighted by
Gebrselassie making his New York debut. The world record holder in the
marathon and multiple Olympic and World Championships gold medalist,
Gebrselassie has become a running legend in his native Ethiopia and
worldwide. He currently sits ninth in the 2009–2010 WMM standings. The
men's and women's elite fields hold 24 Olympians, 14 World Championships
Medalists, eight WMM race winners, seven World Champions and four Olympic
Medalists. The Olympic medalists include Gebrselassie (1996 and 2000, gold,
10,000m) and fellow Ethiopian Derartu Tulu (1992 and 2000, gold, 10,000m),
who is tied for fifth in WMM standings. 2004 Olympic marathon silver
medalist and 2009 New York Champion Meb Keflezighi of the U.S. will try to
defend his title and better his sixth place WMM ranking. The United States'
Shalane Flanagan (2008, bronze, 10,000m) will make her marathon debut.
WMM series points earned in 2010 will also count toward the 2010–11 series
championship. If either Kebede or Cheruiyot wins in Chicago, they'll enter
the 2011 season with a virtually unbeatable 50 points. If Shobukova wins in
Chicago and Erkesso wins in New York, they will enter 2011 with a tie at 50
points. Complete WMM Series leaderboards are posted at
worldmarathonmajors.com.
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