The Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) is a series of six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world: Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, TCS London Marathon, BMW Berlin Marathon, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and TCS New York City Marathon.

The organisers of the events are united in their effort to advance the sport, raise awareness of its elite athletes and grow the global base of marathon runners of all ages and abilities.

Encompassing an annual series for elite runners and elite wheelchair athletes, Abbott WMM also applauds the achievements and passion of everyday champions from around the world.

The AbbottWMM Six Star System is an online results hub that celebrates every runner who has completed from one to six of the races in the series, encouraging them to 'Reach for the Stars'.

The AbbottWMM launched the AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Rankings in 2018 and the second AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Championship race was staged on 2 October 2022 as part of the TCS London Marathon. The 2023 World Championship race will be part of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

The AbbottWMM Global Run Club launched in August 2020 and aims to bring together the global community of marathon runners on a virtual platform.

For more information, visit www.abbottwmm.com and www.abbottwmmglobalrunclub.com.

Series format

The AbbottWMM champions are determined through a one-year cycle of Qualifying Races featuring unprecedented anti-doping protocols. Series XV began at the 2023 Tokyo Marathon in March and concludes at the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon in November. The AbbottWMM series cycle consists of the six Majors along with the Olympic/Paralympic Marathon and the World Athletics/World Para Athletics Championships Marathon in the years they occur.

Points system

The champions of the AbbottWMM series are the male and female athletes who score the greatest number of points from Qualifying Races during the series. During each scoring period, points from a maximum of two Qualifying Races will be scored. An athlete must start in two Qualifying Races over the Series cycle to be eligible for the championship. If an athlete earns points in more than two events, the athlete's highest two finishes will be scored. The wheelchair series follows the same rules, but points from an athlete’s best four races count towards the total, or best five during years with a Paralympic Games or World Championships.

Points are allocated following each race as follows:

• 1st place – 25 points
• 2nd place – 16 points
• 3rd place – 9 points
• 4th place – 4 points
• 5th place – 1 point

Flying 400

The Flying 400 is part of the AbbottWMM Wheelchair Bonus Points competition and is included in all six races for Series XV. In London it will once again be a sprint over a 400m distance that will start just after the 20km point (12.5 miles) on the north side of Tower Bridge and finish on East Smithfield. The fastest athlete between these two points of the course in both the men’s and women’s wheelchair races will win $6,500, with the runner-up receiving $2,500 and third place $1,000. The fastest finisher of the 400m sprint will also be awarded eight bonus points in the AbbottWMM Series XV rankings.

An athlete can win the additional eight bonus points at a maximum of three races during Series XV. If an athlete has won three sprint competitions during Series XV, s/he can still ‘block’ another athlete from getting the points by finishing first in another sprint competition.

Doping violations

Under AbbottWMM rules, no athlete who has been found guilty of any anti-doping rules enforced by World Athletics, World Anti-Doping Association (WADA), National Federations, or any of the individual AbbottWMM races is eligible to win the AbbottWMM championship title. Athletes must comply with the AbbottWMM Code of Conduct.

Series XIV champions:

• Men’s: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN)
• Women’s: Gotytom Gebreslase (ETH)
• Men’s wheelchair: Marcel Hug (SUI)
• Women’s wheelchair: Susannah Scaroni (USA)

To view all the previous Series winners, click here.

Series XV qualifying races

• Tokyo Marathon – 5 March 2023
• Boston Marathon – 17 April 2023
• TCS London Marathon – 23 April 2023
• BMW Berlin Marathon – 24 September 2023 
• Bank of America Chicago Marathon – 8 October 2023 
• TCS New York City Marathon – Sunday 5 November 2023