World Athletics announces important news – from 2030 , marathon runners will compete in a separate World Athletics Marathon Championships. This means that we will no longer see these runners in the overall athletics championships of the planet. The new championship will be held annually, and the men’s and women’s competitions will be held every other year alternately.

The marathon will remain a World Athletics Championships event in 2027 and 2029, and after that, both this and any other road running distance will no longer be part of the priority program.

World Athletics has also confirmed that it is starting formal preparatory discussions with Athens on the organization of the first World Marathon Championship in 2030. The capital of Greece is preferred, because it is there that this running race was born. In addition, it is reported that the Athens Marathon (Athens Marathon. The Authentic), which will take place on November 8 this year, has been granted the status of “Elite Label”, and by 2029 the aim is to receive the “Platinum Label” – the highest rating for road running – and thus join the world’s elite marathons.

The World Athletics Road Running Championships will continue to be held as a separate annual event.

More information: https://worldathletics.org/preview/athens-2030-world-marathon-championships?language=en

Photo by Alfredas Pliadis