Sydney Marathon could become an Abbott World Marathon Major in 2025
Sydney Marathon is making strong headway in its bid to become an Abbott World Marathon Major.
The marathon – which is the largest in the southern hemisphere – has passed its first assessment in its attempt to join the series and will now proceed to the second stage of the candidacy process.
However, the Six Star Finisher medal, awarded to those who complete all six Abbott World Marathon Majors – Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York – will remain.
If successful in its second assessment in 2024, the Sydney Marathon will be part of an additional awards programme for runners achieving more than six stars.
Further plans for Abbott's rewards programme will be finalised and announced in the second quarter of 2024. However, the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in South Africa and China's Chengdu Marathon have also applied for membership.
The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is in the first stage of the process, having been assessed twice now. Although it has not yet received a pass, Abbott World Marathon Majors say 'it was found to have made significant strides towards the standards set out in the assessment criteria' and 'will continue its journey in the first stage of the process when the AbbottWMM assessment team visits the race again in October 2024'.
The Chengdu Marathon has also undergone two assessments now – and will also continue its stage one assessment in 2024.
What is the Abbott World Marathon Majors?
The Abbott World Marathon Majors is a series of six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world: Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City.
The Six Star Medal was introduced in 2016 to honour the runners who complete all six of these races.
In 2018, the Six Star programme was digitised with a results hub, where runners can create profiles and claim all their stars.
Runners who create a profile here can claim their six stars retrospectively and receive their Six Star Medal in the post, but runners can also notify Abbott before they take on their sixth Major and receive their Six Star Medal at that race.
Why will the Six Star Medal not include more stars/races?
Abbott World Marathon Majors say they have received feedback from their community that runners would like the Six Star Medal to stay in place.
SEO Dawna Stone said: 'We have been listening to our community and fully appreciate the huge appeal of the Six Star Medal. We are also aware of the tens of thousands of runners on their Six Star journey whose strong desire is for this goal to stay in place.
'We have therefore decided that this original award for completing all six current Abbott World Marathon Majors will continue.'
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