World Marathon Majors

Each World Marathon Majors series originally spanned two full calendar years; the second year of a series overlapped with the first year of the next. Starting in 2015, each series began with a defined city race and ended with the following race in the same city. So, series IX started in February 2015 at the 2015 Tokyo Marathon and ended there in February 2016 at the 2016 Tokyo Marathon. Series X started at the 2016 Boston Marathon and finished at the 2017 Boston Marathon. Series XI started at the 2017 London Marathon and finished at the 2018 London Marathon.

It began being sponsored by Abbott in 2015.[4] On April 26, 2017 Dalian Wanda Group Co., Ltd., one of the leading Chinese private conglomerates, announced a ten-year strategic partnership aimed at the continued growth and development of marathon events worldwide.

Beginning with Series X at the 2016 Boston Marathon wheelchair competitions were added for men and women.

At the end of each of the first 10 WMM series the leading man and woman each won $500,000, making a total prize of one million U.S. dollars. Beginning with Series XI, the prize structure was revised so that for men and women first place became $250,000, second place $50,000 and third place $25,000. In the wheelchair division the prize money for men and women is $50,000 (first), $25,000 (second) and $10,000 (third).

Athletes who competed in the marathons originally received points for finishing in any of the top five places (1st place: 25 points; 2nd place: 15 points; 3rd place: 10 points; 4th place: 5 points; 5th place: 1 point). Their four highest ranks over the two-year period were counted; if an athlete scored points in more than this number, the athlete's four best races were scored. To be eligible for the jackpot, an athlete had to compete in at least one qualifying race in each calendar year of the series.

In 2015, the scoring was revised (1st place: 25 points; 2nd place: 16 points; 3rd place: 9 points; 4th place: 4 points; 5th place: 1 point). The two highest ranks during the scoring period would be counted, with only the best two if more than that number.

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 women's competition.

Beginning in 2009–10 season, 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 could award the title jointly.

The following marathons have been part of the series in each year:

Year	Tokyo	Boston	London	Berlin	Chicago	New York		IAAF World Champs	Olympics
2006	Not held	17 April	23 April	24 September	22 October	5 November		Not held	Not held
2007	Wasn't part of WMM	16 April	22 April	30 September	7 October	4 November		25 Aug / 2 Sep (Osaka)	Not held
2008	Wasn't part of WMM	21 April	13 April	28 September	12 October	2 November		Not held	24 Aug / 17 Aug (Beijing)
2009	Wasn't part of WMM	20 April	26 April	20 September	11 October	1 November		22 Aug / 23 Aug (Berlin)	Not held
2010	Wasn't part of WMM	19 April	25 April	26 September	10 October	7 November		Not held	Not held
2011	Wasn't part of WMM	18 April	17 April	25 September	9 October	6 November		4 Sep / 27 Aug (Daegu)	Not held
2012	Wasn't part of WMM	16 April	22 April	30 September	7 October	Cancelled[lower-alpha 1]		Not held	12 Aug / 5 Aug (London)
2013	24 February	15 April	21 April	29 September	13 October	3 November		17 Aug / 10 Aug (Moscow)	Not held
2014	23 February	21 April	13 April	28 September	12 October	2 November		Not held	Not held
2015	22 February	20 April	26 April	27 September	11 October	1 November		22 Aug / 30 Aug (Beijing)	Not held
2016	28 February	18 April	24 April	25 September	9 October	6 November		Not held	21 Aug / 14 Aug (Rio de Janeiro)
2017	28 February	17 April	23 April	24 September	8 October	5 November		6 Aug / 6 Aug (London)	Not held
2018	25 February	16 April	22 April	16 September	7 October	4 November		Not held	Not held
2019	3 March	15 April	28 April	29 September	13 October	3 November		6 Oct / 28 Sep (Doha)	Not held
2020	1 March	Cancelled[lower-alpha 2]	4 October[lower-alpha 3]	Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]	11 October	Cancelled[lower-alpha 5]		Not held	Rescheduled[lower-alpha 6]
2021	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA		Rescheduled	1 Aug / 8 Aug (Tokyo)[lower-alpha 6]

The winners by season listed below.[10]

Men's series winners

Season	No.	Start event	Final event	Winner	Country	Points	Notes	Ref
2006–07	I	2006 Boston	2007 New York City	Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot	Kenya	80 pts		[11]
2007–08	II	2007 Boston	2008 New York City	Martin Lel	Kenya	76 pts		[12]
2008–09	III	2008 Boston	2009 New York City	Samuel Wanjiru	Kenya	80 pts		[13]
2009–10	IV	2009 Boston	2010 New York City	Samuel Wanjiru (2)	Kenya	75 pts		[13]
2010–11	V	2010 Boston	2011 New York City	Emmanuel Mutai	Kenya	70 pts		[14]
2011–12	VI	2011 Boston	2012 Chicago	Geoffrey Mutai	Kenya	75 pts		[14]
2012–13	VII	2012 Boston	2013 New York City	Tsegaye Kebede	Ethiopia	75 pts		[15]
2013–14	VIII	2013 Tokyo	2014 New York City	Wilson Kipsang	Kenya	76 pts		[16]
2015–16	IX	2015 Tokyo	2016 Tokyo	Eliud Kipchoge	Kenya	50 pts		[10]
2016–17	X	2016 Boston	2017 Boston	Eliud Kipchoge (2)	Kenya	50 pts		[10]
2017–18	XI	2017 London	2018 London	Eliud Kipchoge (3)	Kenya	50 pts		[17]
2018–19	XII	2018 Berlin	2019 Berlin	Eliud Kipchoge (4)	Kenya	50 pts

Women's series winners

Season	No.	Start event	Final event	Winner	Country	Points	Notes	Ref
2006–07	I	2006 Boston	2007 New York City	Gete Wami	Ethiopia	80 pts
2007–08	II	2007 Boston	2008 New York City	Irina Mikitenko	Germany	65 pts	Tied with Gete Wami; but deemed winner by race directors' vote	[12]
2008–09	III	2008 Boston	2009 New York City	Irina Mikitenko (2)	Germany	90 pts		[12]
2009–10	IV	2009 Boston	2010 New York City	Irina Mikitenko (3)	Germany	55 pts		[12]
2010–11	V	2010 Boston	2011 New York City	Edna Kiplagat	Kenya	60 pts	Awarded after a doping case against original winner (see notes)	[18]
2011–12	VI	2011 Boston	2012 Chicago	Mary Keitany	Kenya	65 pts		[14]
2012–13	VII	2012 Boston	2013 New York City	Priscah Jeptoo	Kenya	75 pts		[15]
2013–14	VIII	2013 Tokyo	2014 New York City	Edna Kiplagat (2)	Kenya	65 pts	Awarded after a doping case against original winner (see notes)	[10]
2015–16	IX	2015 Tokyo	2016 Tokyo	Mary Keitany (2)	Kenya	41 pts	Tied with Mare Dibaba & Helah Kiprop; winner by race directors' vote	[10]
2016–17	X	2016 Boston	2017 Boston	Edna Kiplagat (3)	Kenya	41 pts	Awarded after a doping case against original winner (see notes)	[10]
2017–18	XI	2017 London	2018 London	Mary Keitany (3)	Kenya	41 pts	Winner due to better head-to-head record versus Tirunesh Dibaba	[17]
2018–19	XII	2018 Berlin	2019 Berlin	Brigid Kosgei	Kenya	50 pts

Notes

• Liliya Shobukhova (Russia) was the original winner in 2009–10 and 2010–11 (series IV and V), but she was disqualified from competition for a doping violation in April 2014 and all her results from 9 October 2009 have been annulled.[10][19]
• Rita Jeptoo (Kenya) won four races in the 2013–14 series but gave positive A and B samples in an out-of-competition test in September 2014. Her standings and the final results of the 2013–14 series have been determined at the completion of the due legal process and the outcome of an appeal. As a result, the Series VIII title has been awarded to Edna Kiplagat.[10]
• Edna Kiplagat (Kenya) was crowned women's Series X champion of the 2016–17 season following the doping investigation and legal process against Jemima Sumgong (Kenya), who won two races in 2016 but gave a positive sample in an out-of-competition test in February 2017.[10]

• Most victories – 9, Eliud Kipchoge (men); 7, Mary Keitany (women)
• Most scoring races – 13, Tsegaye Kebede, Wilson Kipsang (men); 14, Edna Kiplagat, Mary Keitany (women)
• Most lifetime scoring points – 240, Eliud Kipchoge (men); 234, Mary Keitany (women)
• Youngest winner – 20 years 281 days, Ghirmay Ghebreslassie (men); 20 years, 253 days, Xue Bai (women)
• Youngest point scorer – 18 years 302 days, Tsegaye Mekonnen (men); 19 years 233 days, Ayaka Fujimoto (women)
• Oldest winner – 38 years 350 days, Meb Keflezighi (men); 38 years 207 days, Constantina Diță (women)
• Oldest point scorer – 41 years 4 days, Ruggero Pertile (men); 41 years 99 days, Krista DuChene (women)
• Nation, most winners – 52, Kenya (men); 35, Kenya (women)

Six star finishers are marathoners who have completed all 6 of the World Marathon Majors. In 2016 following the Tokyo Marathon a Six Star Finisher Medal was introduced[20] In July 2018 a “Reach for the Stars” campaign was launched wherein a runner could claim a star for each WMM race completed. The system allows runners to create a profile, search for their ‘stars’ and add them to their page. [21]

Following the WMM Series XI in April 2018, the verified total of Six Star Finishers was 3,786.

• IAAF Road Race Label Events
• List of marathon races
• List of final standings of the World Marathon Majors

• www.worldmarathonmajors.com