Abbott World Marathon Majors Candidate Marathon

IT’S OFFICIAL!

We’re thrilled to announce The Sydney Marathon as a candidate race for the Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM).

Over the next 3 years, the Sydney Marathon will be required to meet strict criteria to achieve ‘Majors’ status by 2025.  If successful, Sydney Marathon will join an esteemed group of races, Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, TCS London Marathon, BMW-Berlin Marathon, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and TCS New York City Marathon.

No city in the world has a better combination of natural beauty, love of sport and iconic infrastructure for hosting a marathon than Sydney!

Achieving the status of an Abbott World Marathon Major would cement Sydney’s position as one of the world’s great sporting event cities. Throughout the 3-year candidacy period, the Sydney Marathon will attract thousands of visitors to the Harbour City including the world’s greatest long-distance runners and wheelchair athletes.

This is great news for runners of all levels and abilities. There will be an increase in entertainment on the course, with a vastly improved race-day experience, cheered on by more people and more runners celebrating Sydney.

What is the Abbott World Marathon Candidate program?

• The Abbott World Marathon Majors is the biggest and most popular running event series on the planet featuring the most high-profile best-known and most desirable marathons in the world.
• This series currently comprises of annual races in the cities of Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City.
• The races deliver amazing participant experiences and significant international tourism promotion for their host cities.

What is the Abbott World Marathon Candidate program?

• Abbott World Marathon Majors is looking to increase its global footprint to bring the power of the Marathon to more people.
• There are only three spots available globally in the candidate program – Cape Town’s Sanlam Marathon and China’s Chengdu Marathon are already part of the AbbottWMM candidate process.
• To become a Major, the Sydney Marathon will be required to meet strict criteria.
• By being nominated to the World Marathon Majors Candidacy Program, NSW and Sydney have the unique opportunity to host the only World Marathon Major in Oceania and join global icons of marathon running.
• If successful, the Sydney Marathon will join this esteemed group of races as a new member of the prestigious Abbott World Marathon Majors in 2025

What are the benefits for the every day runner?

It will not only be the Sydney Marathon participants that benefit from the candidacy but all participants of the entire Sydney Marathon sub events too.

Some key deliverables over the next three years include:-

• Increase in entertainment on the course
• Focus on creating atmosphere and attracting Sydneysiders and friends and family of those running to come out and cheer on our athletes
• There will be a noticeable difference in how the event looks and feels
• There will be some of the greatest marathon athletes on the planet racing in Sydney
• We’ll be welcoming more international and interstate runners to Sydney
• Increased live broadcast production and global reach
• There will be an overall increase in participation, with a focus on the marathon
• Economic impact will increase substantially, supporting local businesses
• The event will be uplifted to provide a better experience for all our marathon and fun runners
• From 2023, the race expo will be turned into an elevated running show allowing for great sports and retail experiences, education, talks, guest appearances and a whole lot of fun

About Abbott World Marathon Majors

The Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) is a series of six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world – Tokyo Marathon, B.A.A. Boston Marathon, TCS London Marathon, BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and TCS New York City Marathon.

Encompassing an annual series for elite runners and elite wheelchair athletes, AbbottWMM also applauds the achievements and passion of everyday champions from around the world. The AbbottWMM Six Star System is an online results hub that celebrates every runner who has completed from one to six of the races in the series and encourages them to ‘Reach for the Stars’.

The AbbottWMM launched the AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Rankings in 2018 and the second AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Championship race took place on 02 October 2022 as part of the TCS London Marathon.

The AbbottWMM Global Run Club launched in August 2020 and aims to bring together the global community of marathon runners on a virtual platform.

For more information, visit www.Abbottwmm.com and www.Abbottwmmglobalrunclub.com