The World Marathon Majors (WMM) is a championship-style competition for marathon runners that started in 2006. A points-based competition founded on six major marathon races recognised as the most high-profile on the calendar, the series comprises annual races for the cities of Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York. In addition, each edition of the series recognises and includes the results of the major global championship marathon held in that year, usually on a one-off lapped course. These races are the biennial World Athletics Championships Marathon, and the quadrennial Olympic Games Marathon.
Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized at the 5000 metre distance. Regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time, he is the 2016 and 2020 Olympic marathon champion and the world record holder in the marathon with a time of 2:01:09 set at the 2022 Berlin Marathon. He has run four of the six fastest marathons in history.
Jemima Jelagat Sumgong is a Kenyan long-distance runner specialising in marathon races.
The 2012 Boston Marathon took place in Boston, Massachusetts on Monday April 16, 2012. It was the 116th edition of the mass-participation marathon. Organized by the Boston Athletic Association, it was the first of the World Marathon Majors series to be held in 2012. A total of 22,426 runners started the race. The competition was held in hot running conditions, reaching 88 °F (31 °C) that afternoon, and some of the 27,000 registered runners opted to take up the organizers' offer to defer their entry until the 2013 race.
The 2014 London Marathon was the 34th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 13 April. The men's elite race was won by Kenyan Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich and the women's race was won by Kenyan Edna Kiplagat. The men's wheelchair race was won by Switzerland's Marcel Hug and the women's wheelchair race was won by American Tatyana McFadden. Kipsang and McFadden set course records.
The 2015 London Marathon was the 35th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 26 April. The men's elite race was won by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and the women's race was won by Ethiopian Tigist Tufa. The 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships marathon events were also held during the race. The men's wheelchair race was won by Josh George from the United States and the women's wheelchair race was won by American Tatyana McFadden. McFadden set a course record for the second year running.
The 2018 London Marathon was the 38th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 22 April. Kenyans Eliud Kipchoge and Vivian Cheruiyot won elite races. In the wheelchair races, Britain's David Weir and Australia's Madison de Rozario topped the podium.
The 2018 New York City Marathon was a marathon race held in New York City, United States, which took place on November 4, 2018. It was the 48th edition of the New York City Marathon, which is organised by New York Road Runners. The men's race was won by Lelisa Desisa, who held off a late challenge at the finish by Shura Kitata. The women's race was won by Mary Keitany, her fourth win of the event. Both Desisa and Keitany recorded the second fastest times on the course. In the wheelchair races, Daniel Romanchuk (1:36:21) and Switzerland's Manuela Schär (1:50:27) won the men's and women's races, respectively. A total of 52,704 runners finished the race, comprising 30,592 men and 22,112 women.
The 2019 London Marathon was the 39th running of the annual marathon race in London, United Kingdom, which took place on 28 April. The elite men's race was won by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, who took his fourth London Marathon victory in a time of 2:02:37, the second fastest marathon ever at that point. The women's race was won by Brigid Kosgei, also of Kenya, in 2:18:20. American Daniel Romanchuk won the men's wheelchair title in 1:33:38 while Switzerland's Manuela Schär won the women's title in 1:44:09. Changes were made to the course to make it more environmentally friendly; the number of plastic bottles used was reduced and biodegradable alternatives were used instead.
The men's marathon event at the 2020 Summer Olympics started at 07:00 on 8 August 2021 in Sapporo, Japan. 106 athletes from 46 nations competed. The previous Olympic champion, Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, successfully defended his title, with Dutch and Belgian athletes Abdi Nageeye and Bashir Abdi gaining silver and bronze, respectively. Kipchoge was the third man to repeat as Olympic marathon champion, after Abebe Bikila and Waldemar Cierpinski. The Netherlands and Belgium earned their first men's marathon medals since 1980 and 1976, respectively.
The 2019 Chicago Marathon was the 42nd annual running of the Chicago Marathon held in Chicago, Illinois, United States on October 13, 2019. The men's race was won by Kenyan Lawrence Cherono in 2:05:45 while the women's was won by Kenyan Brigid Kosgei in 2:14:04, a world record by 81 seconds. The men's and women's wheelchair races were won by Daniel Romanchuk and Manuela Schär in 1:30:26 and 1:41:08, respectively. More than 45,000 runners completed the race.
The 2019 Berlin Marathon was a marathon race held on 29 September 2019 in Berlin, Germany. It was the 46th edition of the annual Berlin Marathon. The marathon distance is just over 26 miles (42 km) in length and the course is run around the city and starts and finishes in the Tiergarten. The elite men's race was won by Kenenisa Bekele in 2:01:41, two seconds slower than the world record set by Eliud Kipchoge in 2018. The elite women's race was won by Ashete Bekere following a sprint finish in 2:20:14. The wheelchair men's and women's races were won by Marcel Hug and Manuela Schär in 1:28:09 and 1:38:07, respectively.
The 2020 London Marathon was the 40th running of the annual marathon race in London, United Kingdom, which took place on 4 October 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was postponed from 26 April and only allowed elite participants; the mass participation event was cancelled. The event used a different course from usual, consisting of multiple laps around St James's Park.
The 2021 New York City Marathon, the 50th running of that city's premier long-distance race, was held on November 7, 2021. Around 30,000 people ran in the event, of whom 25,020 finished. The race followed its traditional route, which passes through all five boroughs of New York City.
The 2021 Tokyo Marathon was the fifteenth edition of the annual marathon race in Tokyo. The competition was held on Sunday 6 March 2022, having been postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The elite events were won by Kenyans Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei respectively, whilst the wheelchair races were won by Swiss athlete Marcel Hug and Japanese competitor Tsubasa Kina. Around 20,000 people competed in the mass participation event.
The 2021 London Marathon was the 41st running of the annual London Marathon on 3 October 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was postponed from April until October to maximise the chances of a mass participation event.
The 2022 Berlin Marathon was the 48th edition of the annual marathon race in Berlin, which took place on Sunday, 25 September 2022. An Elite Platinum Label marathon, it was the first of four World Marathon Majors events to be held over the span of six weeks. 45,527 runners with 34,879 finishers from 157 countries have taken part in the event.
The 2022 New York City Marathon, the 51st running of that city's premier long-distance race, was held on November 6, 2022. The race followed its traditional route, which passes through all five boroughs of New York City. 47,839 people finished the event. It was the warmest New York City Marathon on record, with peak temperatures of 75 °F (24 °C).
The 2023 London Marathon was the 43rd running of the annual London Marathon on 23 April 2023. It was the first time since 2019 that the event was run in the spring, as the previous three races were run in autumn due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
