Thrilling finishes, record performances help World Marathon Majors usher in new era

World, national and course records, thrilling finishes, more than 300,000 participants, and a championship race that went down to the final day highlighted the inaugural 2006-2007 World Marathon Majors Series, and ushered in a brand new era of growth and excitement in the sport.

After a six month break, the excitement will continue at the 2008 Flora London Marathon on April 13, followed eight days later by the 112th Boston Marathon on April 21.

Here is a look back at some of the many highlights from the 2006-2007 World <st1:place>Marathon</st1:place> Majors Series:

Record Breakers:
2006: Robert K. Cheruiyot (KEN) sets a course record of 2:07:14 at the 110th Boston Marathon.

Deena Kastor (USA) sets a new American record of 2:19:36 in winning the 2006 Flora London Marathon, becoming the eighth woman to break 2:20:00

Ethiopians Haile Gebrselassie (2:05:56) and Gete Wami (2:21:34) each set national records in victory at the 2006 real,-BERLIN-MARATHON.

Gebrselassie sets a new world record of 2:04:26 at the 2007 real,-BERLIN-MARATHON

A complete list of the national records set in WMM events in 2006-2007:

Men: Ethiopia (twice), Italy

Women: Australia, Ethiopia (three times), Nepal, Mexico, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Russia (twice), United States of America
Thrilling Finishes

Felix Limo (KEN) outsprints Martin Lel (KEN) by two seconds to win the 2006 Flora London Marathon

Marilson Gomes dos Santos (BRA) outsprints Stephen Kiogora (KEN) by five seconds to win the 2006 ING New York City Marathon.

Lel outsprints Abderrahim Goumri (MAR) by three seconds to win the 2007 Flora London Marathon.

Patrick Ivuti (KEN) wins The 2007 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon by five one-hundredths of a second over Jaouad Gharib (MAR), the closest finish in WMM history.

Berhane Adere (ETH) outsprints Adriana Pirtea (ROU) by three seconds to win The 2007 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.

Winning Streaks
2006: Cheruiyot becomes the first man to win Boston and Chicago in the same year.
2006: Jelena Prokopcuka (LAT) wins her second straight ING New York City Marathon.
2007: Cheruiyot wins his third straight WMM event at the Boston Marathon.
2007: Catherine Ndereba (KEN) captures her second IAAF World Championship title. The victory is the eighth of her career in WMM events, and her 16th career top-3 finish, an all-time record.
2007: Paula Radcliffe (GBR) wins her seventh WMM race in seven finishes at the ING New York City Marathon.
2007: Lel becomes the first man to win London and New York City in the same year.

Growing Fields
2006: 33,633 complete the largest LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon ever.
2007: 20,338 complete the second-largest Boston Marathon ever.
2007: 35,694 complete the largest Flora London Marathon ever.
2007: 32,638 complete the largest real,-BERLIN-MARATHON ever.
2007: 38,607 complete the ING New York City Marathon, making it the largest marathon ever run.

The 2006-2007 season culminated the day after the 2007 ING New York City Marathon, when Robert K. Cheruiyot (KEN) and Gete Wami (ETH) were honored as the inaugural World Marathon Majors Series champions. In addition to splitting $1 million for their victories, the two athletes are well-positioned in the race for the 2007-2008 WMM crown, with Cheruiyot tied for second and Wami comfortably in first place on the leaderboard.

2007-2008 WMM Series Leaderboard

Men
1. Martin Lel (KEN) 50 pts.
2. Robert K. Cheruiyot (KEN) 30 pts.
2. Abderrahim Goumri (MAR) 30 pts.
4. Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) 25 pts.
4. Patrick Ivuti (KEN) 25 pts.
4. Luke Kibet (KEN) 25 pts.

Women
1. Gete Wami (ETH) 55 pts.
2. Zhou Chunxiu (CHN) 40 pts.
3. Lidiya Grigoryeva (RUS) 30 pts.
4. Catherine Ndereba (KEN) 26 pts.
5. Berhane Adere (ETH) 25 pts.
5. Jelena Prokopcuka (LAT) 25 pts.
5. Paula Radcliffe (GBR) 25 pts.

Current 2007-2008 WMM Series Schedule
In 2008, athletes will have six opportunities to earn WMM points:
April 13, Flora London Marathon
April 21, Boston Marathon
August 17 & 24, Olympic Games Women's & Men's Marathons (Beijing)
September 28, real,-BERLIN MARATHON
October 12, The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon
November 2, ING New York City Marathon
The 2007-2008 WMM Series will conclude at the 2008 ING New York City Marathon.