It was announced Friday that starting next year the Tokyo Marathom will be part of the World Marathon Majors (WMM) made up of the top races around the world.
Tokyo Vice Gov. Naoki Inos said he believes Tokyo’s inclusion in the six-year series will provide a boost to the city’s bid for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
He said, “this will beam out to the world the attraction of Japan and Tokyo and boost the Olympic bid.”
London, Boston, Berlin, Chicago and New York are also part of the WMM circuit. The winner of the series, based on a point system that also counts the Olympics and world athletics championships over a two-year period, receives $500,000.
The Tokyo Marathon began in 2007 and now has 35,000 runners. It is labelled a gold road race by the International Association of Athletics Federations.
