Leaked marathon qualifying times for World Championships marathon cause panic

ATHLETICS Leaked marathon qualifying times for World Championships marathon cause panic

Abigael Wafula 14:00 - 20.03.2024

The entry standards for the marathon at the 2025 World Championships have been leaked and clearly, athletes have to put in a lot of effort to qualify for the global showpiece.

The entry standards of the qualifying standards for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan have been leaked and athletes will have their work cut out as they seek to qualify for the global showpiece.

As per the Canadian Running Magazine, the women’s marathon entry standard is expected to be increased to 2:23:30, from the previous 2:26:50 mark for the Paris Olympics. This increase will see more women having to put in more effort if they have to qualify for the global event in 2025.

This change reflects the increasing depth in the field, with more female athletes achieving sub-2:20 times, making it necessary to have a higher standard.

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World Athletics initially aimed for a balanced distribution of qualifiers for the Paris Olympics, with approximately half meeting the entry standard and the rest earning qualification through the World Athletics rankings and points system.

However, none of the women are expected to qualify based on points, as 82 athletes out of the 80 have met the Olympic standard of 2:26:50.

The men’s marathon standard is expected to see an increase to 2:06:30, from its previous mark of 2:08:10. From reports, 91 athletes have hit this new mark in the Paris Olympic qualifying window (November 1, 2022, to April 30, 2024) and 65 of those athletes are Kenyan and Ethiopian.

Meanwhile, as per Marathon handbook, the new standards have made it extremely difficult, near impossible, for any past or present North American to qualify for World Championships unless it is via the points system.

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