8 Dec 2022
SYDNEY MARATHON ACHIEVES PRESTIGIOUS WORLD ATHELTICS PLATINUM LABEL
The Sydney Marathon has become the first event in the Southern Hemisphere to achieve the highly prestigious World Athletics Platinum Label, as recently announced by World Athletics.
As a World Athletics Platinum Label Road Race, the Sydney Marathon is now ranked eighth in the world, becoming one of the leading global road races.
The news comes following the Sydney Marathon’s recent announcement as a Candidate Race in the Abbott World Marathon Majors and will support the Sydney Marathon in its bid to join the New York City, London, Boston, Chicago, Berlin, and Tokyo Marathons.
If successful, the Sydney Marathon will become one of the world’s most attractive marathon events with expected participation over 30,000.
The economic impact of inclusion to the Majors is also significant with the six Majors collectively contributing over US$1 billion to their local economies every year.
Sydney Marathon Race Director, Wayne Larden, says becoming an Abbott World Marathon Majors Candidate has already lifted the profile of the event significantly, with the World Athletics Platinum Label expected to increase it more.
“This year we delivered the fastest ever marathon on Australian soil, we bounced back from Covid with significant entry numbers, and we showcased the Marathon and Sydney to the world with our three hours live and delayed highlights broadcast distributed into over 450 million houses globally,” Larden said.
“We are extremely excited about the prospect of joining the Abbott World Marathon Majors, but we still have much work to do. An indication of the power of the World Marathon Majors brand is evident by our current entries, already a race record with over 10 months to go.”
Olympic legend and Berlin Marathon winner, Steve Moneghetti, said: “It is fantastic news that the Sydney Marathon has been awarded Australia’s first World Athletics Platinum Level event. This is a wonderful accolade for the race and a further sign of exciting things happening in athletics in this country. There’s nothing quite like running a World Marathon Major and I encourage everyone, whether you’re a beginner or an elite runner, to get involved in this road race and help continue the upward trajectory of this event.”
Demand for entry into the Abbott World Marathon Majors always exceeds field size, with Sydney’s closest neighbour - the Tokyo Marathon - oversubscribed by approximately 500,000 applicants annually. Sydney and the state of New South Wales hope to benefit from the overflow of applicants from the oversubscribed races to fast track growth and economic impact.
NSW Minister for Tourism Ben Franklin said the Platinum Label status acknowledges the Sydney Marathon as a world-class event with one of the most spectacular marathon courses on the planet.
“The NSW Government is proud to support the Sydney Marathon’s candidacy for the Abbott World Marathon Majors. No city in the world has a better combination of natural beauty, love of sport and iconic infrastructure for a marathon than Sydney. The Sydney Marathon is recognised as one of the world’s best marathon events, showcasing Sydney’s desirable lifestyle to a global audience. Being the first marathon city in the Southern Hemisphere to achieve Platinum Label status further enhances Sydney’s position as the major events capital of the Asia Pacific.”
Athletics Australia Chief Executive Officer Peter Bromley added: “This is a major coup not only for our sport in Australia but for runners globally. Being awarded a World Athletics Platinum Label highlights to the world that this is a quality race and a must-do run that runners can get excited about, and the label will no doubt go a long way in helping us boost the race to become a World Marathon Major. I’d like to congratulate Wayne and his team on the delivery of this event thus far and I look forward to seeing it become bigger and better in 2023.”
The Sydney Marathon has a further two-year evaluation period in the candidacy program and if successful will be admitted to the Majors line up in 2025. The achievement of World Athletics Platinum Label status will attract a much higher calibre of elite runners to further elevate the status and recognition of the event around the world.
Runners and walkers of all levels can enter the 2023 Sydney Marathon and support its ambition of becoming an Abbott World Marathon Major event here.
The Sydney Marathon and its candidacy for the Abbott World Marathon Majors is proudly supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
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Karri Graf Sophie Walton
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