KEBEDE AND SHOBUKHOVA CURRENT
LEADERS
NEW YORK (USA):
The 2010-2011 World Marathon Majors series resumes with a doubleheader
weekend,
beginning with the Virgin London Marathon on Sunday, April 17, then
jumping
over the Atlantic for the Boston Marathon the
next day. The WMM series leaderboard is sure to be reshuffled in the
chase for
the $1 million jackpot. Many of the world’s top marathoners will be
looking to
chase down WMM series points leaders Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia and
Liliya Shobukhova of Russia on the streets of London. And another group
of talented
athletes will be in the hunt for the title on the famed
Hopkinton-to-Boston
course. With Kebede running in London Kenyans Emmanuel Mutai (30 points)
and
Patrick Makau (25 points). Unfortunately, a leg injury has sidelined the
2008
Olympic champion and reigning WMM series champion, Kenya’s Samuel
Wanjiru. Shobukhova
is the early favorite to retain her WMM series title. She comes into
London with 50 points, after 2010 wins in London and at the Bank of
America Chicago
Marathon. Another London
win would give her an almost insurmountable lead heading into the fall
marathon
season. Ethiopia’s Aberu
Kebede (25 points), ING New York City Marathon 2010 champion Edna
Kiplagat of Kenya (25
points), and fellow Russian Inga Abitova (20 points) will try to keep
Shobukhova from running away with the WMM crown. In Boston,
Kenya’s Robert Kiprono
Cheruiyot (25 points) and ING New York City Marathon 2010 winner Gebre
Gebremariam (25 points) of Ethiopia
could climb the ladder with strong finishes on Patriots’ Day. American
favorite
Ryan Hall could also work his way into the picture with a podium finish.
In the
women’s race, returning champion Teyba Erkesso (25 points) of Ethiopia
could
stay in contention with another win. She can expect challenges from last
year’s
runner-up Tatyana Pushkareva (15 points) of Russia, and American star
Kara
Goucher, who is returning to WMM action after the birth of her first
child last
fall. WMM writes in a release.
