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1. Tsegaye Kebede (ETH) 35 pts, running in London) ©Victah Sailer
Virgin London Marathon – The Million Dollar Series Returns In Boston And London
The World Marathon Majors series returns with a rush next week when the Boston and London Marathons are held just six days apart, featuring many of the world's leading runners all with their eyes on the series' million dollar prize.
A shake-up of the 2012/13 leader boards seems inevitable with only 20 points separating the top 10 men and 15 points separating the top 10 women.
The series picks up in Boston on Monday, 15 April, where the top two finishers from last year's race face each other again. Defending champion Wesley Korir of Kenya can leap to the top of the leaderboard if he finishes third or better this time, unless his countryman Levi Matebo turns the tables with victory in Copley Square.
Korir currently sits third with 26 points from his Boston 2012 win plus fifth in Chicago last October. Matebo is tied for sixth with 15 points from Boston last year.
Should Korir or Matebo claim the series lead on Monday, it may not last for long as the current joint leaders – Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia and Kenya's Wilson Kipsang – both compete in London on Sunday, 21 April.
Kebede took 35 points last year by finishing third in London and first in Chicago, while Kipsang became London champion before claiming the bronze medal at the London Olympic Games.
London is far from a two-horse race, however. A host of series contenders will be on the start line in Greenwich Park, including Uganda's Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich and 2012 Berlin winner Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya, the 2011/12 WMM champion.
Those two are currently tied for fourth with 25 points apiece, while three athletes are knotted together with 15 points each: Olympic silver medallist Abel Kirui of Kenya, his compatriot Martin Lel, who was second in London last year, and Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia, who was runner-up in Chicago.
The 2012/13 women's series is also wide open with current leader Mary Keitany of Kenya out of action this spring awaiting the birth of her second child.
With a slender five-point advantage, Keitany is vulnerable to any number of athletes, including 2012 Boston champion Sharon Cherop of Kenya, who's currently second in the series with 25 points, plus two other Boston entrants, Kenya's Rita Jeptoo, second in Chicago, and Ethiopia's Tirfi Tsegaye, runner-up in Berlin. They have 15 points each.
With reigning champion Keitany out, the London Marathon title is up for grabs, and the WMM lead is likely to go along with it.
The London contenders include three athletes currently tied in second on 25 points – the Olympic champion, Tiki Gelana, her Ethiopian compatriot, 2012 Chicago champion Atsede Baysa, and Kenya's Olympic silver medallist Priscah Jeptoo who was third in London last year.
Also in the London mix are Kenya's world champion Edna Kiplagat, who was second in London last year, and Florence Kiplagat, who was fourth in London. They have 15 and five points respectively.
The 2013/14 series is also underway, kick-started at the Tokyo Marathon in February this year where Dennis Kimetto of Kenya and Aberu Kebede of Ethiopia picked up 25 points apiece for their victories.
Following the BAA Boston Marathon on Monday 15 April and the Virgin London Marathon on Sunday 21 April, the 2012/13 series will continue with the IAAF World Championships marathons in Moscow on 10 August (women) and 17 August (men), followed by the Berlin Marathon on 29 September, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on 13 October and the ING New York City Marathon on 3 November.
The top five men and women at the Tokyo, London, Boston, Berlin, Chicago and New York marathons, plus those at IAAF World Championships and Olympic marathons earn points in each two-year World Marathon Majors series. The men's and women's WMM champions each win US$500,000. The points available from each race are:
1st– 25, 2nd– 15, 3rd – 10, 4th – 5, 5th– 1.
2012/13 WMM Leaderboards
Men
1. Tsegaye Kebede (ETH) 35 pts, running in London)
1. Wilson Kipsang (KEN) 35 pts, London
3. Wesley Korir (KEN) 26 pts, Boston
4. Stephen Kiprotich (UGA) 25 pts, London
4. Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) 25 pts, London
6. Dennis Kimetto (KEN) 15 pts, Tokyo
6. Abel Kirui (KEN) 15 pts, London)
6. Martin Lel (KEN) 15 pts, London
6. Feyisa Lilesa (ETH) 15 pts, London
6. Levy Matebo (KEN) 15 pts, Boston
Women
1. Mary Keitany (KEN) 30 pts
2. Atsede Baysa (ETH) 25 pts, London
2. Sharon Cherop (KEN) 25 pts, Boston)
2. Tiki Gelana (ETH) 25 pts, London
2. Priscah Jeptoo (KEN) 25 pts, London,
2. Aberu Kebede (ETH) 25 pts, Tokyo
7. Jemima Sumgong (KEN) 15 pts
7. Rita Jeptoo (KEN) 15 pts, Boston
7. Edna Kiplagat (KEN) 15 pts, London
7. Tirfi Tsegaye (ETH) 15 pts, Boston
Source: Virgin London Marathon
More on the World Marathon Majors series at: www.worldmarathonmajors.com
