Marathons at the World Athletics Championships
The marathon at the World Championships in Athletics has been contested by both men and women since the inaugural edition in 1983. It is the second most prestigious global title in the discipline after the marathon at the Olympics. From 1997 to 2011 it hosted the World Marathon Cup team event. It currently forms part of the World Marathon Majors circuit, which includes the six top annual races. The competition format has separate men's and women's races, which both serve as a straight final. Participation typically numbers between sixty and eighty runners per race. The event usually starts and ends in the main stadium, with the rest of the race taking place on the surrounding roads of the host city.
| Marathon at the World Championships in Athletics | |
|---|---|
 Women starting the 2013 marathon on the track | |
| Overview | |
| Gender | Men and women |
| Years held | Men: 1983 – 2015 Women: 1983 – 2015 |
| Championship record | |
| Men | 2:06:54 Abel Kirui (2009) |
| Women | 2:20:57 Paula Radcliffe (2005) |
| Reigning champion | |
| Men |  Geoffrey Kirui (KEN) |
| Women |  Rose Chelimo (BHR) |
The championship records for the event are 2:06:54 hours for men, set by Abel Kirui in 2009, and 2:20:57 hours for women, set by Paula Radcliffe in 2005.[1] The world record has never been broken or equalled at the competition by either men or women, reflecting the lack of pacemaking and athletes' more tactical approach to championship races.[2]
Catherine Ndereba is the most successful athlete of the event, having won two gold medals and one silver medal in the women's marathon. Four other athletes have won the World Championships marathon twice: Abel Antón, Jaouad Gharib, Abel Kirui and Edna Kiplagat – all of whom had back-to-back victories.
Kenya is the most successful nation in the discipline, having won eight gold medals overall (four in each division). Japan is the next most successful, with three gold medallists, and shares the highest medal total of fourteen with Kenya. Spain has won three gold medals, while Ethiopia has won ten medals in the men's race (the highest).
Age
Patrick Dupouy of French Polynesia became the oldest male competitor of World Championships history in 2007, at the age of 46 years and 85 days.[3] Under current regulations, the records for the youngest participants will remain indefinitely as any athlete in the junior category (under-20) that year, or younger, is ineligible to enter the marathon.[4]
| Distinction | Male athlete | Age | Female athlete | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youngest champion | Gezahegne Abera | 23 years, 102 days | Bai Xue | 20 years, 251 days |
| Youngest medalist | Feyisa Lilesa | 21 years, 215 days | Bai Xue | 20 years, 251 days |
| Youngest participant | Ahmed Hassan | 18 years, 187 days | Su Su-Ning | 14 years, 274 days |
| Oldest champion | Abel Antón | 36 years, 308 days | Catherine Ndereba | 35 years, 43 days |
| Oldest medalist | Abel Antón | 36 years, 308 days | Constantina Diță | 35 years, 203 days |
| Oldest participant | Patrick Dupouy | 46 years, 85 days[nb1] | Colleen de Reuck | 47 years, 136 days |
- nb1 Ayele Seteng of Israel was originally stated as the oldest competitor, but this was due to an administrative error on his passport, which lists his date of birth as understood under the Ethiopian calendar (showing some seven to eight years less than the Gregorian calendar).[3]
Doping
The first doping ban to effect the World Championships marathon came in 2001, when Italy's Roberto Barbi (60th in the men's race) was disqualified. Original eighth-placer Nailiya Yulamanova was disqualified from the 2009 women's race and another Russian, Mikhail Lemayev, had his result annulled from the men's race that year. Biological passport irregularities saw Abderrahim Goumri's runs in 2009 and 2011 retrospectively annulled.[5] The anti-doping programme at the 2013 championships saw Jeremías Saloj disqualified from the men's race for doping.[6]
Medalists
Men
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Multiple medalists
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Period | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | Abel Antón |  Spain (ESP) | 1997–1999 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1= | Jaouad Gharib |  Morocco (MAR) | 2003–2005 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1= | Abel Kirui | Kenya (KEN) | 2009–2011 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Martín Fiz | Spain (ESP) | 1995–1997 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Hussein Ahmed Salah |  Djibouti (DJI) | 1987–1991 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Stefano Baldini |  Italy (ITA) | 2001–2003 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 7 | Lelisa Desisa |  Ethiopia (ETH) | 2013-2019 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Medalists by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenya (KEN) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | Spain (ESP) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | Morocco (MAR) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Ethiopia (ETH) | 2 | 5 | 3 | 10 |
| 5 |  Japan (JPN) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 6= | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia (AUS) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 6= |  United States (USA) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 8= |  Uganda (UGA) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8= |  Eritrea (ERI) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Djibouti (DJI) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Italy (ITA) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 12= |  Mexico (MEX) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12= |  Namibia (NAM) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12= |  Qatar (QAT) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12= |  Tanzania (TAN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 16= |  Brazil (BRA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 16= |  East Germany (GDR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 16= |  Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 16= |  Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Women
Multiple medalists
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Period | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Catherine Ndereba | Kenya (KEN) | 2003–2007 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | Edna Kiplagat | Kenya (KEN) | 2011–2017 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Manuela Machado |  Portugal (POR) | 1993–1997 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Lidia Șimon |  Romania (ROU) | 1997–2001 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | Reiko Tosa | Japan (JPN) | 2001–2007 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Medalists by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenya (KEN) | 4 | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | Japan (JPN) | 2 | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| 3 | Portugal (POR) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Romania (ROU) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 5 |  China (CHN) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6= |  Great Britain (GBR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6= |  North Korea (PRK) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6= |  Norway (NOR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6= |  Poland (POL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10= |  Soviet Union (URS) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 10= | Italy (ITA) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 | United States (USA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 13= | Ethiopia (ETH) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13= |  France (FRA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13= |  Russia (RUS) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Championship record progression
Men
| Time | Athlete | Nation | Year | Round | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2:10:03 | Robert De Castella | Australia (AUS) |
1983 | Final | 14 August |
| 2:08:31 | Jaouad Gharib | Morocco (MAR) |
2003 | Final | 30 August |
| 2:06:54 | Abel Kirui | Kenya (KEN) |
2009 | Final | 22 August |
Women
| Time | Athlete | Nation | Year | Round | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2:28:08 | Grete Waitz | Norway (NOR) |
1983 | Final | 7 August |
| 2:25:17 | Rosa Mota | Portugal (POR) |
1987 | Final | 29 August |
| 2:23:55 | Catherine Ndereba | Kenya (KEN) |
2003 | Final | 31 August |
| 2:20:57 | Paula Radcliffe | Great Britain (GBR) |
2005 | Final | 14 August |
References
- Championships Records. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-07-12.
- IAAF World Championships: IAAF Statistics Handbook Daegu 2011, pp. 595–6 (archived). IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-07-06.
- Butler 2013, p. 34–7.
- Technical Regulations for the IAAF World Championships (Updated January 2015). IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-08-16.
- Butler 2013, p. 67–9.
- More than 1900 blood samples collected – Moscow 2013. IAAF (2013-09-20). Retrieved on 2015-08-16.
- Main > Men, marathon > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.
- Main > Women, marathon > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.
Bibliography
- Butler, Mark (2013). IAAF Statistics Book Moscow 2013 (PDF). IAAF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2014.