09/17/2008
WORLD MARATHON MAJORS FALL SEASON SET TO OPEN IN BERLIN
By David Monti
(c) 2008 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission
Berlin Marathon Website
With
the Olympic Games results now in the books, the World Marathon Majors
is set to open the Fall season at the real,-BERLIN-MARATHON on Sunday,
September 28. Six athletes are still in the running for a half share
of the $1,000,000 annual prize.
On the men's side, Kenyans
Martin Lel and Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot are the last two athletes in
contention for the 2007/2008 title. Lel has 76 points to Cheruiyot's
55. Lel has already scored in four events (the maximum number allowed
in a two-year scoring period). Should he choose to race again, Lel
could still improve his score by improving upon his 5th-place finish in
the Olympic Games because an athlete may have his best four results
count. For Cheruiyot to defend his championship he will first have to
recover from the injury which forced him to withdraw from the Olympics.
Then, only a victory --coupled with Lel failing to add to his lead--
would give Cheruiyot the title.
Four women are still in the mix
for the 2007/2008 women's title. Defending champion Gete Wami of
Ethiopia is the current points leader with 65 and, like Lel, she has
already scored in four events. Wami would have to place first or
second in a Fall race to improve her 65-point total. Should she fail to
do so, the door will be opened for three women to challenge for the WMM
Series championship (she did not score any points in the Olympic
Marathon because she did not finish).
Olympic bronze medalist
Zhou Chunxiu of China sits in second place with 50 points, and holds a
tie-break advantage versus Wami by virtue of their head-to-head
record. So, a victory or runner-up placing this Fall could give Zhou
the win. Meanwhile, Olympic silver medalist Catherine Ndereba of Kenya
(41 pts.) would surpass Wami by a slim 1-point margin with a win. Irina
Mikitenko (GER) also still has an outside chance. She did not compete
in the Olympic Games but a win in Berlin on September 28 would vault
her into a tie for first with Wami. It is possible that she could come
back to race at either the Bank of America Chicago Marathon (Oct. 12)
or the ING New York City Marathon (Nov. 2) and score additional points.
Athletes
will also score points towards the 2008/2009 Majors series this Fall.
Olympic champion Samuel Wanjiru leads the men's 2008/2009 series with
40 points (Lel is second with 26) and Mikitenko, Ethiopia's Dire Tune
and Romania's Constantina Dita are all tied for first with 25 points in
the women's series. Twenty-five points are awarded for a first place
finish, with 15 going for second, ten for third, five for fourth and
one for fifth.
The 2007/2008 points leaders will be awarded
their $500,000 checks at a special luncheon held in New York City on
Monday, Nov. 3.
ENDS