Martin Lel und Irina Mikitenko gewinnen zweite World Marathon Majors-Serie
Champions to be honored on Monday, November 3 in New York City
Following today's ING New York City Marathon, Martin Lel (KEN) and Irina Mikitenko (GER) have captured the 2007-2008 World Marathon Majors Series championships. They will be honored at a special luncheon tomorrow, Monday, November 3, at The Boathouse in New York City.
Lel, the WMM Series runner-up in 2006-2007, clinched the 2007-2008 title by virtue of victories in the first three marathons he ran in the scoring period: the 2007 Flora London Marathon and ING New York City Marathon, followed by the 2008 Flora London Marathon. Lel then placed fifth in the Olympic Marathon in Beijing to increase his total to 76 points.
For the second consecutive year, the women's title was still up for grabs in the final race of the Series. Two women could have clinched the WMM title by a strong showing in the ING New York City Marathon this morning: Gete Wami (65 points) and Catherine Ndereba (41 points). Not entered in New York, but also in contention, was Irina Mikitenko (65 points).
With neither Ndereba (fifth today) nor Wami (sixth) clinching the victory, Wami and Mikitenko remained tied atop the leaderboard with 65 points. Under the rules of the WMM Series, the first tie-breaker is head-to-head competition however the two athletes each have beaten each other once. As a result, the champion is determined by a vote taken by the five race directors of the World Marathon Majors-and they have unanimously decided that the winner of the 2007-2008 Series is Mikitenko.
In reaching this decision, the race directors took into account the fact that Irina had achieved her points in fewer races and her average times across her scoring race were lower than Wami's.
Final 2007-2008 World Marathon Majors Series Standings
Men's 2007-2008 WMM Series Top 10
1. Martin Lel (KEN) 76 pts.
1st 2007 London 25 pts.
1st 2007 New York 25 pts.
1st 2008 London 25 pts.
5th 2008 Olympic Games 1 pt.
2. Robert K. Cheruiyot (KEN) 55 pts.
1st 2007 Boston 25 pts.
4th 2007 Chicago 5 pts.
1st 2008 Boston 25 pts.
2. Abderrahim Goumri (MAR) 55 pts.
2nd 2007 London 15 pts.
2nd 2007 New York 15 pts.
3rd 2008 London 10 pts.
2nd 2008 New York 15 pts.
4. Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) 50 pts.
1st 2007 Berlin 25 pts.
1st 2008 Berlin 25 pts.
5. Samuel Wanjiru (KEN) 40 pts.
2nd 2008 London 15 pts.
1st 2008 Olympic Games 25 pts.
6. Jaouad Gharib (MAR) 35 pts.
4th 2007 London 5 pts.
2nd 2007 Chicago 15 pts.
2nd 2008 Olympic Games 15 pts.
7. James Kwambai (KEN) 31 pts.
2nd 2007 Boston 15 pts.
5th 2007 New York 1 pt.
2nd 2008 Berlin 15 pts.
8. Evans Cheruiyot (KEN) 25 pts.
1st 2008 Chicago 25 pts.
8. Patrick Ivuti (KEN) 25 pts.
1st 2007 Chicago 25 pts.
8. Luke Kibet (KEN) 25 pts.
1st 2007 World Championships 25 pts.
8. Marilson Gomes Dos Santos (BRA) 25 pts.
1st 2008 New York 25 pts.
Women's 2007-2008 WMM Series Top 10
1. Irina Mikitenko (GER) 65 pts.*
2nd 2007 Berlin 15 pts.
1st 2008 London 25 pts.
1st 2008 Berlin 25 pts.
2. Gete Wami (ETH) 65 pts.
2nd 2007 London 15 pts.
1st 2007 Berlin 25 pts.
2nd 2007 New York 15 pts.
3rd 2008 London 10 pts.
3. Lidiya Grigoryeva (RUS) 55 pts.
1st 2007 Boston 25 pts.
4th 2007 New York 5 pts.
1st 2008 Chicago 25 pts.
4. Zhou Chunxiu (CHN) 50 pts.
1st 2007 London 25 pts.
2nd 2007 World Championships 15 pts.
3rd 2008 Olympic Games 10 pts.
4. Paula Radcliffe (GBR) 50 pts.
1st 2007 New York 25 pts.
1st 2008 New York 25 pts.
6. Catherine Ndereba (KEN) 42 pts.
1st 2007 World Championships 25 pts.
5th 2007 New York 1 pt.
2nd 2008 Olympic Games 15 pts.
5th 2008 New York 1 pt.
7. Constantina Tomescu-Dita (ROU) 35 pts.
3rd 2007 London 10 pts.
1st 2008 Olympic Games 25 pts.
4th 2008 Chicago 5 pts.
8. Alevtina Biktimirova (RUS) 30 pts.
2nd 2008 Boston 15 pts.
2nd 2008 Chicago 15 pts.
8. Jelena Prokopcuka (LAT) 30 pts.
2nd 2007 Boston 15 pts.
3rd 2007 New York 10 pts.
4th 2008 Boston 5 pts.
10. Berhane Adere (ETH) 25 pts.
1st 2007 Chicago 25 pts.
10. Dire Tune (ETH) 25 pts.
1st 2008 Boston 25 pts.
*Champion determined via tie-break.
Athletes are awarded points for a top-5 finish, with 25 points for 1st, 15 for 2nd, 10 for 3rd, 5 for 4th and 1 for 5th. A maximum of four events can be counted in a two-year period.