FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Best of the best age group runners ready to race through London:
Inaugural Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Championships
The inaugural Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World
Championships will see 4,200 runners from 82 countries* take to the streets
of London on Sunday 3 October as part of the 2021 Virgin Money London
Marathon.
It's been a long-time coming after the 2020 mass event on the streets of
London had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The event will
combine qualifiers from editions one and two of the Age Group World
Rankings, making for some highly competitive age categories as many of the
world's best marathoners aged 40 and above battle it out for World Champion
status.
The Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Rankings were
launched in 2018 and 150 qualifying races were part the first two editions,
with the top athletes invited to join take part in the inaugural Abbott
World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Championships at the Virgin
Money London Marathon.
Competing runners will wear a special back bib which means they can be
identified on course – and spot their competition – and all finishers will
be rewarded for their efforts with a special Abbott World Marathon Majors
Wanda Age Group World Championships medal, in addition to the official
Virgin Money London Marathon finisher medal. The top three in each age
category (male and female) will also receive an award, which will be
presented at a function on Sunday evening.
Tim Hadzima, Executive Director for the Abbott World Marathon Majors said:
"We are delighted to be heading to the Start Line of the inaugural Abbott
World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Championships in London. After
such a challenging and uncertain 18 months, it is very special to see so
many marathon runners from around the globe return to in-person racing this
Sunday as part of the iconic Virgin Money London Marathon.
The standard of age group running globally will make
for an extremely competitive race across all ages
on Sunday, and we are looking forward to seeing who
makes the podium.
Tim Hadzima
Executive Director for the Abbott World Marathon Majors
Hugh Brasher, Event Director of the Virgin Money London Marathon, said: "We
are delighted to welcome the world's best age group runners to London. The
inaugural Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Championships
is another great addition to this year's event. I know the speed of these
runners is going to truly show that age is no barrier and will be an
inspiration to us all."
Some notable age group runners taking part
Yuko Gordon, JPN (F70-74)
A 1984 Los Angeles Olympic marathoner. Yuko came 34th representing Hong
Kong where she lived for many years. She won her age group in the 2018/2019
qualifying series with strong performances in Berlin and Stockholm. A
Japanese native, she moved to the UK in 1998 and, after a 15-year break,
began Masters running in England and in no time at all got back to her
competitive ways.
Jeannie Rice, USA (F70-74)
Jeannie qualified in the 2018/2019 qualifying series through top times at
the Bank of America Chicago Marathon (3:27:50) and the TCS New York City
Marathon (3:40:33). Jeannie is from South Korea and came to the US back in
1968. She started running at the age of 35 for weight loss and got hooked.
She only has Tokyo to run to complete her Six Star journey and runs an
average of 50 to 60 miles every week.
Eileen Noble, GBR (F85-89), GFA
Eileen (pictured above in main image) hails from South East London and has
run the Virgin Money London Marathon 19 times, including last year’s
virtual event. Her personal best was back in 1992 with a time of 4:40. She
started running a mile a day when she was 53 and it grew from there. She
has been the oldest runner in the Virgin Money London Marathon for the last
two years and will be the oldest female out on the course this year at the
age of 86. Eileen has five marathon age group awards (four from London and
one from Lochaber). She is looking to add a world championship title to her
accolades.
Jose Santiago, PRT (M50-54)
Jose is from Portugal and will be running his first Abbott World Marathon
Major when he competes in London in the inaugural Age Group World
Championships. He has run 23 marathons and is an active member of the
Abbott World Marathon Majors Global Run Club. He came twelfth in his age
group category during the 2018/2019 qualifying series. Jose said: “For me
it is a huge honour to compete and represent Portugal in the Championships
and I am striving to be one of the best athletes in the world in my age
group. I also want to complete the six major marathons and London will be
the first on my journey.
Volker Rose, USA (M50-54)
Volker is a German-American qualifier, based in Illinois, who will abe
added to the Six Star Finisher Hall of Fame when he crosses the Finish Line
on Sunday. He started his running career at the age of 45 and has since
concluded 13 marathons, with a personal best of 2:53:27 at the New York
Marathon in 2019. Together with the Tokyo Marathon finished in the same
year, Volker achieved enough points to qualify for the inaugural Age Group
World Championships.
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