Cape Town Marathon awarded IAAF Gold Status

The Mother City hosts one of the leading road races

Last Update 9 March 2017

The beloved Sanlam Cape Town Marathon has been awarded the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) Gold Status. The announcement was made during a press conference on 7 March 2017 and makes The Mother City the first Gold Status recipient in Africa, and a part of IAAF Gold Label status Marathons internationally, which makes this a great achievement.

The IAAF Road Race Label Events designates races as “leading road races around the world”. In order to qualify for a gold status, there are numerous requirements which need to be met namely its attractiveness, athlete line-up and technical issues. The attractiveness of the event deals with the history and heritage of the race, the city, the country and the continent.

The athletic line-up includes looking at the number of participants, elite field, the prize money on offer and the equality and safety. The technical issues outline the official times and results, the route measurements, water stations, road closure, medical and doping requirements amongst others.

This was a stringent process that the organisers adhered to in order to relaunch in 2014. The organisers hope to increase participation in 2017 to 25 000 across all events. The race will once again host a 10km,22km and 12km Peace Run in addition to its flagship standard marathon of 42.2km.

Race ambassador and former Springbok rugby captain, Francios Pienaar, take on former Proteas skipper, Graeme Smith, in the newly launched Captain’s Challenge. The race will also see the City of Cape Town’s Mayor, Patricia de Lille, partaking in the 2017 10km Peace Run.

By Tarina Meiring & Garth Prins

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