Edna Kiplagat: World Marathon Majors Criticism Was 'Fabricated'

Edna Kiplagat: World Marathon Majors Criticism Was 'Fabricated'

Statements attributed to Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat decrying her treatment by the Abbott World Marathon Majors in the wake of the doping scandals that have rocke

Jan 27, 2016 by Joe Battaglia
Edna Kiplagat: World Marathon Majors Criticism Was 'Fabricated'
Statements attributed to Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat decrying her treatment by the Abbott World Marathon Majors in the wake of the doping scandals that have rocked the series were “fabricated” the two-time world champion claims.

In a statement released by her Colorado-based manager Brendan Reilly on Wednesday, Kiplagat denied ever telling Kenyan media or a Chinese news wire service that she had become dismayed over money she has lost competing in the world’s top road race series.

“During the week of January 10, a newspaper report in Kenya fabricated comments from me regarding the ongoing issues of doping in athletics and the process by which prize money and other financial incentives should be paid to deserving athletes,” Kiplagat’s statement read. “I would like to take an opportunity to directly state my opinion on the topic.”
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Edna Kiplagat after winning the 2011 World Championships

The Abbott World Marathon Majors comprises the major global road races – the Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York City and Tokyo Marathons as well as the World Championships and Olympics. Each year, the WMM awards a $500,000 jackpot to the male and female marathoners who total the best two-year points total earned through top-five finishes in the WMM races.

In 2010/2011, Russia’s Liliya Shobukhova beat Kiplagat for that jackpot. In 2013/2014, it was fellow Kenyan Rita Jeptoo who won the jackpot over Kiplagat. Both Shobukhova and Jeptoo have since been banned for doping violations and their results have been expunged from the record. The World Marathon Majors has yet to retrieve the $1 million it had awarded to two or reallocate that money to Kiplagat.

A Reuters report published in The Star on January 13, quoted Kiplagat as saying in Eldoret that her “talent is being wasted,” and, “I don’t have any motivation.”

Three days later, Xinhua published quotes from Kiplagat expressing similar frustration with WMM, and eluded that she would not be running any WMM races this spring.
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Edna Kiplagat finishes second at the 2012 London Marathon.

"I am not getting younger and this would have done me a great deal,” Kiplagat supposedly said of the $1 million. “That is why I have stopped everything to focus on the Olympics. The money is good, but they (WMM) have not awarded me the same since."

Kiplagat, 36, is scheduled to headline the Tokyo Marathon on Feb. 28, when she will face Ethiopian stars Aberu Kebede and Berhane Dibaba as well as compatriot Helah Kiprop in what is arguably the strongest women’s field in the history of the race.

“My past 13 consecutive marathons since November 2010 have all been a part of this group: five times in London, four times in New York, three times at the IAAF World Championships and one Olympic Games,” Kiplagat said in her statement. “Tokyo next month will be my 14th competition in a marathon that is part of the Abbott WMM scoring system.

I have passionately supported the events of the Abbott WMM. These events are the best in the world, in every sense. They feature the strongest athletes, the best race management and sponsorship teams, and the best financial incentives for us athletes.
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Edna Kiplagat is one of Kenya's most accomplished women's marathon runners.

Kiplagat went on to say that she “applauds” the WMM taking “the strongest possible stand in opposing the WADA and IAAF reinstatement of Liliya Shobukhova,” as well as the group’s advocating “for the cleanest standards in our sport.”

According to Kipagat, her management team receives “near-monthly” updates on efforts by WMM legal counsel Nick Bitel and general manager Tim Hadzima to recoup the nearly $2 million in prize money and bonuses from Shobukhova and Jeptoo.

“The frustration I feel – which is shared by all other athletes who have been deprived of our titles, medals, and financial earnings by athletes and officials who cheated the system – has been well-documented in the media,” Kiplagat said in her statement. “Such people are not only cheats, but they are thieves, stealing earnings from athletes, appearance fees from race organizers, and bonuses from sponsors.”