Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge and Mary Keitany were the Abbott World Marathon Majors Series IX champions of the final race of the series in Tokyo on Sunday.
Keitany, who tied with Ethiopia’s Mare Dibaba and Kenya’s Helah Kiprop with 41 points, was selected as the Series IX women’s champion in a vote by the leaders of the six AbbottWMM member races.
This was in accordance with the Abbott world Marathon Majors tie-breaking procedure.
Kipchoge and Keitany, who will each earn $500,000 (Sh51.2 million) were honoured at an awards ceremony to mark the conclusion of the year-long series.
The series featured the WMM races: the Tokyo, Boston, Virgin Money London, BMW Berlin, Bank of America Chicago and TCS New York City marathons—all IAAF Gold Label Road Races—and the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015 marathons.
“This year we’ve demonstrated our commitment to championing the sport, supporting the elite runners who prove that marathoners are among the world’s greatest athletes, and celebrating the 250,000 runners who every year join us on our iconic courses,” said AbbottWMM general manager Tim Hadzima.
Kipchoge finished at the top of the AbbottWMM Series IX leader board, earning 50 points for his victories at the 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon and the 2015 BMW Berlin Marathon.
Mary Keitany earned her AbbottWMM Series IX title with a victory at the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon and a second-place finish at the 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon.