an Abbott World Marathon Majors press release
The Abbott World Marathon Majors Series XI Champions were officially crowned in London following the conclusion of the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon. Tim Hadzima, General Manager of the Abbott World Marathon Majors said: “It has been another sensational series for Abbott World Marathon Majors. We started in London with a women’s world record from Mary Keitany in 2017 and continued with some astonishing races in each of our six cities.”
Eliud Kipchoge won his third consecutive AbbottWMM title after winning the 2017 BMW Berlin Marathon and the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon to give him 50 points. Second behind Kipchoge was his fellow Kenyan Geoffrey Kirui with 41 points. Kirui won 25 points with victory at the 2017 IAAF World Championships Marathon and added 16 more with second in the 2018 Boston Marathon.
In third was Japan’s Yuki Kawauchi with 25 points after his victory in the 2018 Boston Marathon. Kawauchi was tied in joint third by Daniel Wanjiru (KEN), Galen Rupp (USA), Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN) and Dickson Chumba (KEN), which triggered a vote by the six AbbottWMM race directors to decide who would be named in third place, Kawauchi’s amazing victory in Boston, in a race that also contained Kirui and Rupp, was enough to give him the decision.
In the elite women’s competition, Kenya’s Mary Keitany was confirmed champion after victory in the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon and second place in the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon. Keitany finished level on 41 points with Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) but her win over Dibaba in London in 2017 means she wins on a head-to-head comparison.
Dibaba takes second place, while Brigid Kosgei was awarded third place, again on a race director’s vote. Kosgei was second in the 2017 Bank of America Chicago Marathon and second in the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon, drawing her level with Ethiopia’s Ruti Aga but winning the race director’s vote after besting Keitany and Dibaba in London this year.
In the wheelchair series, we saw dominant performances from two Swiss athletes across the year. Marcel Hug (SUI) won his second consecutive AbbottWMM men’s wheelchair series with 100 points following wins in Berlin, Chicago, New York City and Boston. David Weir (GBR) finished in second after winning both the 2017 and 2018 Virgin Money London Marathons for 50 points, with Ernst Van Dyk (SOU) in third on 33 points.
Manuela Schär (SUI) became women’s wheelchair champion with 100 points after wins in the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon, BMW Berlin Marathon, TCS New York City Marathon and 2018 Tokyo Marathon. Second was Tatyana McFadden on 98 points after winning the 2017 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, taking second in the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon, second at the 2018 Tokyo Marathon, winning the 2018 Boston Marathon and finishing second in the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon. Amanda McGrory finished third with 45 points after finishing second in London in 2017, second in Chicago in 2017, third in New York City in 2017 and fourth in Tokyo in 2018.
Hadzima added: “The racing showed the very best of world class marathon running and wheelchair racing, while we also celebrated all of our champions who followed behind our elite athletes, especially those who completed their journey to becoming Six Star Finishers. “We are excited for the start of Series XII in Berlin and to see how the elite competitions will unfold once more.” Series XII begins on 16 September 2018 at the BMW Berlin Marathon.
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