2021 London Marathon champions Joyciline Jepkosgei, Marcel Hug and Manuela Schär are celebrating further success after being crowned Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) Series XIII winners.
Abbott WMM champions are crowned based on the results of the six marathon majors (Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York), plus Olympic, Paralympic and World Championship marathons over a set period of time. Series XIII, which was punctuated by the pandemic, started at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in 2019 and finished at the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday 7 November.
London’s reigning elite women champion Jepkosgei (KEN) was the joint winner of the female Series XIII title alongside Peres Jepchirchir (KEN), with both athletes finishing level on points with two wins each.
Jepkosgei won the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon before triumphing on her London debut in 2021. Jepchirchir won the Olympic Games marathon before winning in New York. World record holder and two-time London Marathon champion Brigid Kosgei (KEN) also finished level on points with Jepkosgei and Jepchirchir but lost out on head-to-heads to her Kenyan rivals.
In the male wheelchair category, Hug (SUI) was a dominant winner after blazing a trail through the calendar in 2021 with victory in the Paralympic Marathon followed by wins in Berlin, London, Boston and New York City. Great Britain’s David Weir finished in third place, one spot behind Daniel Romanchuk (USA).
Schär, who set a new London Marathon course record of 1:39:52 in 2021, won her third consecutive women’s wheelchair series title with a maximum five wins and three bonus point hauls throughout the series. Tatyana McFadden took second place on the leaderboard while Australia’s Madison de Rozario was third.
The men’s division was won by Kenya’s Albert Korir who won the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon and was runner-up in the Big Apple in 2019.
2021 London Marathon champion Sisay Lemma (ETH) was second and Vincent Kipchumba (KEN), the runner-up in London for the past two years, was third overall.
Tim Hadzima, Executive Director of AbbottWMM said: “This is the first time we have had joint champions in the Women’s Elite Series which shows the strength of the field in women’s marathon running right now.
“After starting the Series back at the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, this has been a long time coming but it will go down as one of the most competitive yet and we can’t wait for Series XIV to kick off in Tokyo next year.”
The Series will move to a calendar format next year commencing at the Tokyo Marathon in March and concluding at the TCS New York City Marathon next November.
Series XIII Male Wheelchair Champion
Series XIII Female Wheelchair Champion
Series XIII Male Champion
Series XII Female Champion
* = Both Jepchirchir and Jepkosgei defeated Kosgei in head-to-head races and are declared joint champions.