FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gil Lee
mPRm Public Relations
WCSN
323.933.3399 ext. 4241
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SPORTS NETWORK OFFERING LIVE BROADCAST
OF THE LONDON MARATHON
WCSN.com Delivers FREE Live and On-Demand Coverage of the
Flora London Marathon on April 22
World's Greatest Marathon Runners Set for Head-to-Head Battle
LOS ANGELES, CA – April 19, 2007 – World Championship Sports Network (WCSN),
the premier destination for fans of Olympic and lifestyle sports, is
offering free live and on-demand coverage of the annual London Marathon via
its broadband network available to everyone in the USA and Canada. Taking
place on Sunday, April 22, beginning live at 4 a.m. Eastern, fans can go to
www.wcsn.com to watch comprehensive coverage of the 26.2 mile event as over
35,000 participants including elite marathon runners, celebrities and
amateurs, will run past many famous landmarks through London.
As the second stop of the newly formed World Marathon Majors, a marathon
series offering $1 million prize purse to be split between the top male and
female marathoners in the world, the Flora London Marathon will offer one of
the highest quality men's field ever. Participants include last year's
fastest marathon runner, Haile Gebrselassie, current marathon world record
holder Paul Tergat, 2006 London Marathon winner Felix Limo, 2004 Athens gold
medalist Stefano Baldini, two-time World Champion Jaouad Gharib, 2005 London
Marathon winner Martin Lel, former marathon world record holder Khalid
Khannouchi, 2006 New York Marathon winner Marilson Gomes dos Santos, 2004
Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi and fellow American Ryan Hall who
will be making his much anticipated debut.
The women's field will be its strongest ever with top caliber long distance
runners such as 2006 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon winner Berhane Adere,
Asian Games champion Zhou Chunxiu, World Cross Country champion Lornah
Kiplagat and current Berlin Marathon champion Geta Wami.
"WCSN is thrilled to be able to provide marathon fans the opportunity to
follow this amazing event live and in its entirety for the first time in the
USA and Canada," said WCSN Chairman and CEO Claude Ruibal. "We're excited
to raise further awareness about this popular event and hope fans tune in to
watch world class athletes test their limits and endurance in the Flora
London Marathon."
"It is important that U.S. and Canada marathon fans can see this race
because we have such a strong men's elite field," said Flora London Marathon
Race Director David Bedford. "The presence of the world record holder, the
world and Olympic champions, our reigning champion and the in-form Haile
Gebrselassie will, I am sure, mean we have another hugely exciting race
through London's streets."
Richard Hornsby-Smith, Sports Sales Manager, BBC Worldwide added, "The Flora
London Marathon is one of the great highlights of the British sporting
calendar. It's also one of the most internationally popular, with BBC
Worldwide licensing it last year to over 160 countries around the world. I'm
delighted that this fantastic event will be available live and online in
North America via WCSN for the very first time."
From the inaugural London Marathon in 1981 with over 7,500 participants, the
event has continued to garner much interest and success over the years, now
at full capacity with over 35,000 runners and part of the World Marathon
Majors, a series of high-profile courses aimed at increasing the level of
elite racing that include the Boston, Berlin, Chicago and New York City
marathons. As a result of all this popularity, the Flora London Marathon has
also become the largest annual fundraising event in the world, having raised
more than $620 million by its runners to date. And with no additional cost,
visitors to WCSN.com can enjoy live and on-demand coverage of the event as
well as post-event videos, features, photos and highlights.
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