Abbott World Marathon Majors today announced that, effective immediately, all marathons in Russia are excluded from the qualification process for the Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Rankings.
Accordingly, results from the following events will not qualify to award athletes points in the 2022 rankings season:
· Kazan Marathon, May 15
· Pushkin Marathon, May 15
· Yarche Tomsk International Marathon, June 12
· Siberian International Marathon, August 6
· International Marathon Europe Asia, August 7
· Tula Marathon, August 14
· Absolute Moscow Marathon, September 18
· Galaxy Vladivostock Marathon, September 24
All marathons in Russia that were scheduled to be part of the 2023 rankings process are also excluded.
London Marathon Events (LME), organisers of the TCS London Marathon, recently announced that Russian and Belarussian nationals who live in either Russia or Belarus will not be accepted into any LME-owned mass participation event. This means that no Russian or Belarussian national resident in either Russia or Belarus will be accepted into the 2022 Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Championships which take place as part of the TCS London Marathon on October 2, 2022.
Acting Head of Abbott World Marathon Majors Danny Coyle said: “The Age Group World Rankings program includes more than 300 marathons in over 80 nations, supporting our mission to create opportunities for all to discover the power of the marathon. Our races stand for values that unite and inspire people from all walks of life.
“These values stand in direct opposition to the appalling actions we are currently seeing carried out by Russia in Ukraine. We are therefore excluding any qualifying events hosted in Russia.
We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, our partner races there and all Ukrainian members of the Abbott World Marathon Majors family.”
These decisions will be kept under review as the situation continues to develop.
