Can't decide it this is good for a sport that can't even get a race on
ESPN 2 or there goes the neighborhood!
Quoted message said:World's Five Premier Marathons Unite to Form
"World Marathon Majors"First World Marathon Majors Series will commence in April
2006 and culminate in November 2007 with a $1 million prize.BOSTON and LONDON (January 23, 2006)-The world's five premier
international marathons-the Boston Marathon, the Flora London Marathon,
the real,- Berlin-Marathon, the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, and the ING
New York City Marathon-have joined forces to collectively present the top
echelon in the sport of marathon running. These five events now present
themselves as the World Marathon Majors® (WMM).The directors of the five races also have formed and will launch the World
Marathon Majors Series (WMM Series) this spring at the 110th Boston
Marathon on Monday, April 17. The series will culminate at the 2007 ING
New York City Marathon on November 4 with the award of a total $1 million
prize purse split evenly between the top male and female series finishers.
Over the two-year scoring period, the world's best marathoners will earn
points when they finish among the top five places at the individual WMM
races, the IAAF World Marathon Championships, and the Olympic
Marathons."This is one of the most significant changes in the history of our sport,"
said Dave Bedford, race director of the Flora London Marathon. "The World
Marathon Majors Series marks the start of a new era of growth and
excitement for our sport.""The World Marathon Majors marks the first time in the sport's history that
the world's top five races have joined together for the common good and
promotion of the sport by creating a unified global circuit of the sport's
best and most prestigious 26.2-mile championships," said Guy Morse,
executive director of the Boston Marathon.The announcement of the WMM Series was made today in joint news
conferences in Boston and London and included the endorsement and backing
of many of the world's best athletes, including world record-holder Paul
Tergat of Kenya and Olympic marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi of the
United States."Our races are to our sport what Wimbledon and the Australian, U.S., and
French Opens are to tennis, and what the Masters, U.S., and British Opens
and PGA Champions hip are to golf," said Mary Wittenberg, race director of
the ING New York City Marathon. "Each race has the history, the tradition,
the honor roll of legendary champions, and a special place in the eyes of
all to make them stand apart from the other events."After the WMM Series commences this spring at Boston and at the Flora
London Marathon on April 23, the competition will continue in the autumn at
the real,- Berlin-Marathon on September 24, the LaSalle Bank Chicago
Marathon on October 22, and the ING New York City Marathon on
November 5.Other details of the WMM Series are:
• Men and women are scored separately.• In addition to the five WMM marathons, the WMM Series also includes
any IAAF World Championships and Olympic Marathons held
during the two-year period. The series events are known as the
Qualifying Races.•Athletes earn points by placing among the top five at qualifying races: 25
points for a first-place finish, 15 points for second place, 10 points for
third place, five points for fourth place, and one point for fifth place;• During the two-year scoring period, an athlete must finish at least one
qualifying race in each year of the series. If an athlete runs more than
four qualifying races, only the top four results will be counted.• In the case of tie, the first tiebreaker is the winner of any
head-to-head competition between the contending athletes in a qualifying
race. The ultimate tiebreaker is by majority vote of the five WMM race
directors.The WMM Series is designed to further elevate the sport of marathon running
in the public eye. Helping to focus the world's best marathoners on the
world's premier marathons will create a platform that is intriguing and
simple to follow.The scoring system makes all WMM events equal in terms of the athletes'
pursuit of the grand prize jackpot and acknowledges that all marathon
courses are not the same. The scoring system is based on points, rather
than on performance times or strength of competition, to take into account
the unique challenges involved in performing well over a sustained period
of time. The winner of the WMM Series unquestionably will be the best
performer during the competition period, and additional marathons could be
added to a subsequent WMM Series.Two-year scoring periods will overlap, allowing the WMM to award a grand
prize jackpot on an annual basis following the inaugural presentation in
2007. That is, after the 2006-2007 series, the subsequent series will
include the WMM races during the calendar years 2007 and 2008."The creation of this series will generate collective interest and
excitement at alevel that has not existed between our great events in the
past," remarked Carey Pinkowski, executive race director of the LaSalle
Bank Chicago Marathon. "The result of these marathons partnering together
is increased visibility, exposure, and growth for the sport of marathon
running on a national and international scale."It is the intention of the WWM by seeking sponsorship support to double the
prize money purse to $2 million in future years for a $1 million prize for
both the men's and women's champion. Athletics Management & Services (AMS)
has been exclusively appointed by the WMM to secure a title sponsor.
"In fact, we are the championship events of the sport of marathon running,"
said Mark Milde, race director of the real,- Berlin-Marathon. "Like the
championship events of tennis and golf, we are now positioning ourselves to
work together rather than individually, which will be a venture attractive
to runners and non-runners, athletics enthusiasts, and casual observers of
sport."