World Marathon Majors
 | |
| Sport | Marathon running |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 |
| No. of teams | individual sport |
| Official website | www.worldmarathonmajors.com |
The World Marathon Majors, also known as the Big Six, is a championship-style competition for marathon runners that started in 2006. It comprises six annual races (five 2006–2011, four 2012) for the cities of Tokyo (starting in 2013),[1][2] Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City (2006–11, 2013–), a biennial race, the IAAF World Championships Marathon, and a quadrennial race, the Olympic Games Marathon. Each WMM series spans two calendar years; the second year of a series overlaps with the first year of the next.[3] It is currently sponsored by Abbott and thus officially known as the Abbott World Marathon Majors (AWMM).
Athletes who compete in the marathons receive points for finishing in any of the top five places (1st 25; 2nd 15; 3rd 10; 4th 5 and 5th 1). Their four highest ranks over the two-year period will be counted; if an athlete scores points in more than this number, the athlete's four best races will be scored. To be eligible for the jackpot, an athlete must compete in at least one qualifying race in each calendar year of the series.[4]
For the first three series if there were equal top scores at the end of the competition the tiebreakers were head-to-head competition and, if necessary, a majority vote of the five WMM race directors. This happened in the 2007–08 woman's competition.
Beginning in 2009–10 following best head-to-head record, the following tie-breakers were implemented, in descending order: the person who achieved his or her points in the fewest races, the person who won the most Qualifying Races during the period, the person with the fastest average time in their scoring races, and a majority vote of the six race directors. If the final circumstance is necessary, the Race Directors may award the title jointly.
At the end of each WMM series the leading man and woman each win $500,000, making a total prize of one million U.S. dollars.[5] The competition has completed seven race series since its inception.
Major marathons
- Tokyo Marathon—Tokyo, Japan The marathon takes place in late February and joined the World Marathon Majors in 2013 as the sixth race.
- Boston Marathon—Boston, USA One of the five original marathons included in the series, the marathon takes place on the regional Holiday Patriots' Day i.e. the 3rd Monday in April.
- London Marathon—London, UK The London Marathon takes place annually in late April. It was one of the five founding marathons for the World Marathon Majors in 2006.
- Berlin Marathon—Berlin, Germany The race occurs in late September, and is one of the five founding marathons to begin the World Marathon Majors in 2006.
- Chicago Marathon—Chicago, USA As one of the five marathons to join at the time the World Marathon Majors was founded, the Chicago Marathon takes place annually in early October.
- New York City Marathon—New York City, USA The NYC Marathon occurs on the first Sunday in November. It was originally a part of the World Marathon Majors founding group, and has participated since the start in 2006. In 2012, the NYC Marathon was cancelled due to aftermath of Superstorm Sandy which caused political disagreements in the city of New York.[6] Consequently, the New York City Marathon was not an active part of the World Marathon Majors for the year 2012. In 2013, the marathon resumed as per usual.
- IAAF World Championships in Athletics-Alternating, in odd-numbered years. The World Championships take place in each odd-numbered year and is counted as a World Marathon Major for IAAF purposes.
- Olympic Games-Fourth year. The Olympic Games marathon is counted as a World Marathon Major for IAAF purposes.
Leaderboards
Main article: List of final standings of the World Marathon Majors
See also
- IAAF Road Race Label Events
- List of marathon races
- List of final standings of the World Marathon Majors
References
- ↑ McCracken, Amanda. "World Marathon Majors 2014 Season Kicks Off in Japan". Running Times. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- ↑ Belson, Ken. "Tokyo Will Be Added as Sixth Major Marathon". New York Times. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- ↑ How It Works. World Marathon Majors. Retrieved on 2011-11-07.
- ↑ Scoring System. World Marathon Majors. Retrieved on 2011-11-07.
- ↑ Prize Purse. World Marathon Majors. Retrieved on 2011-11-07.
- ↑ Belson, Ken. "After Days of Pressure, Marathon Is Off". New York Times. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- Series rankings lists
- Series Leader Boards. World Marathon Majors. Retrieved on 2011-11-07.
External links
- World Marathon Majors – Official site
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