Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge and Mary Keitany were crowned Abbott World Marathon Majors Series XI champions following the conclusion of the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday (22).
Eliud Kipchoge and Mary Keitany win World Marathon Majors Series XI
Kipchoge won his third consecutive series title after winning the 2017 Berlin Marathon and the 2018 London Marathon.
Fellow Kenyan Geoffrey Kirui, the world champion, finished second in the series.
A five-way tie for third place in the standings triggered a vote by the race directors of the six meetings to decide who would be awarded third place. It was ultimately given to Japan’s Yuki Kawauchi, winner of this year’s Boston Marathon.
Like Kipchoge, Keitany also secured her third World Marathon Majors series title. She won the 2017 London Marathon and finished second at the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon. Keitany finished level on 41 points with Tirunesh Dibaba but her win over the Ethiopian in London in 2017 means she wins on a head-to-head comparison.
Dibaba took second place, while Brigid Kosgei was awarded third place, again on a race director’s vote. Kosgei was second in Chicago last year and in London last weekend.
“It has been another sensational series,” said Tim Hadzima, General Manager of the 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.
“We are excited for the start of Series XII in Berlin and to see how the elite competitions will unfold once more.”
Series XI standings
Men
1 Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 50pts
2 Geoffrey Kirui (KEN) 41pts
3 Yuki Kawauchi (JPN) 25pts
Women
1 Mary Keitany (KEN) 41pts
2 Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) 41pts
3 Brigid Kosgei (KEN) 32pts
Series XI of the Abbott World Marathon Majors consisted of:
2017 Virgin Money London Marathon
2017 IAAF World Championship Marathon
2017 BMW Berlin Marathon
2017 Bank of America Chicago Marathon
2017 TCS New York City Marathon
2018 Tokyo Marathon
2018 Boston Marathon
2018 Virgin Money London Marathon