Event to be held at Virgin Money London Marathon in April ahead of World Championships in October

The IPC Athletics Marathon World Championships is to be held in London in 2015, six months before the IPC Athletics World Championships takes place in Doha, Qatar.

The event will be run on April 26 at the Virgin Money London Marathon, which has staged the IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup for the past two years.

IPC Athletics explained how the decision to hold the marathon events in London came as it better suited the race schedules of the leading marathon racers.

“London has a superb track record for staging top class marathon events, as demonstrated each year and during the London 2012 Paralympic Games. We are very excited about staging this event in the city in 2015,” said Ryan Montgomery, Head of IPC Athletics.

“In addition to world titles being up for grabs, the races next year will have added impetus as they will act as qualifiers for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and for some sport classes be the last opportunity to secure their place in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.”

Up to 12 different medal events will take place including six events for male para-athletes and six for females, should they meet the minimum viability criteria:

- T11/T12 – for para-athletes with a severe visual impairment who run with a guide
- T13 – for para-athletes with a visual impairment meeting the minimum criteria
- T42/43/44 – for para-athletes with lower and upper leg impairments
- T45/46 – for para-athletes with lower and upper arm impairments
- T51/52 – wheelchair racers with activity limitation in both lower and upper limbs
- T53/54 – wheelchair racers with partial trunk and leg function

Each country may enter a maximum of six athletes into each event, with each athlete required to have made the minimum qualification standard or have been allocated a direct invitation.

The 2013 marathon world titles were awarded as part of the IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France, with Swiss athletes Marcel Hug, pictured above winning this year’s London Marathon, and Manuela Schaer claiming the T53/54 titles.

There were also gold medals for Chile’s Cristian Valenzuela in the men’s T11, Morocco’s El Amin Chentouf in the men’s T12 and Italy’s Alessando di Lello in the men’s T46 class.

The Doha World Championships will take place between October 22-31.

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