体坛英语新闻：Kenya's Mutai, Keitany eye 1mln USD marathon majors prize

NAIROBI, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- New York Marathon champion Geoffrey Mutai departed Nairobi on Wednesday eyeing to hit two birds with one stone.

Mutai is eying to improve on his silver medal won in 2010 at the flat Berlin marathon course to gold on Sunday.

Also at stake will be a chance to take his World Marathon Majors (WMM) point tally beyond his opponent's reach. Of course, time will not be of importance to him unless it is a world record.

"I have no intention of breaking the world record, but if it comes, then that will be a bonus," said Mutai in Nairobi.

Patrick Makau of Kenya holds the world record set on the same Berlin course last year at 2:03:38, while London marathon champion Wilson Kipsang set the second fastest time of 2:03:42 in winning Frankfurt marathon also last September.

Having been omitted in selection to the Olympics, Mutai (not to be confused with Emmanuel Mutai) has one mission, to silence his critics.

"I want to prove to them that I was the real deal. I missed running in Boston because it was so hot and I did not want to expose myself. Now I have the chance to prove to the world that I can run faster and with big competition," he said.

Mutai set the world fastest running time in Boston last year of 2:03:02, but it was never ratified as a world record because the course elevation, start and finish points are not certified.

That might change in Berlin if Mutai gets the podium position. It will also see Kenya athletes will write history on Nov. 4 when the 2012 World Marathon Majors series concludes in New York.

Never before has Kenya swept both men and women WMM titles, which come with 1 million dollars to be shared between the two winners. This time, the women title and men title will be contested between 10 Kenyan runners - six men and four women.

Current WMM 2011/2012 leader is the fastest runner in history, Mutai leads with 50 points. He will not only battle for the world record time in Berlin on Sunday but also for the WMM crown.

Mutai is leading the ranking by 10 points, while Wesley Korir, Emmanuel Mutai, last year's WMM champion, Olympic marathon silver medalist Abel Kirui and Moses Mosop all have 40 points each.

Wesley Korir will be running in Chicago marathon while Mosop competes in New York City Marathon. Should Geoffrey Mutai win in Berlin, his WMM title 2011/2012 will be safe.

The WMM organisers have confirmed that should Geoffrey Mutai wound up second in Berlin, then Korir and Mosop would have the chance to tie with a victory at either races in Chicago and New York respectively.

Wilson Kipsang, the London Marathon champion has 35 points and has been announced as a starter at New York. A win there would give him 60 points and a potential WMM championship if all of the previous runners falter.

The women's race is down to three contenders. Mary Keitany, the London marathon champion, has a 15 points lead but she will not be racing anymore this season after she pulled out of New York Marathon with a leg injury last week.

World marathon champion Edna Kiplagat (50 points) and Sharon Cherop (45 points) will fight for the World Marathon Majors title, and 500.000 dollars, as they will compete in the New York marathon.

Kenyan athletes have dominated the WMM series especially men. Robert "Mwafrika" Cheruiyot won the first series in 2007.

Other Kenyans who have also banked the fat WMM cheque are Martin Lel (2008), Samuel Wanjiru (2009 and 2010) and Emmanuel Mutai (2011).

For the women, it will be the first time for a Kenyan to win the series. Gete Wami (Ethiopia) won the inaugural series in 2007, followed by Irina Mikitenko of Germany (2008 and 2009) and Russian Liliya Shobukhova (2010 and 2011).

The World Marathon Majors is a series consisting of five of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world: Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York. Depending on which year they fall, both Olympic marathon and IAAF World Championships marathon, serve as qualifying races in the series.

At the conclusion of each qualifying race, the top five male and female finishers are awarded points based on their finish place.

A bounty worth 1 million dollars is split equally between the top male and female point earners.