Chasing (Marathon) Stars Down Under: Will Sydney Become the Next World Marathon Major?

Following the mid-September news from the Abbott World Marathon Majors (WMM) that the Sydney Marathon would be the host race for the 2024 Age Group World Championships next September, it was announced on October 31 that runners who qualify and participate in the 2024 championships will receive a provisional WMM star at the race.

It doesn’t mean the Sydney Marathon will become the long-awaited seventh WMM race, but it is one of three destination races engaged in a two-year qualification process to possibly join the majors circuit in 2025.

Since the city chosen to be the “seventh star” in the World Marathon Majors will not be announced until 2025, this provisional star awarded in Sydney is meant to be an interim nod of acknowledgement to those runners who will compete Down Under.

“The Age Group World Championships is a program our community feels strongly about and one that has produced record-breaking performances in a number of categories,” says Dawna Stone, CEO of Abbott World Marathon Majors. “That demonstrates the standard of runners taking part and the level of commitment our participants have to this goal. We believe it is only right that this special group, that is already part of the AbbottWMM family, should be rewarded for dedicating themselves to training for, traveling to and racing in our flagship event.”

The Abbott World Marathon Majors Age Group World Championships were introduced in 2022 at the London Marathon, offering the masters running community the opportunity to add a further layer of competition to their goals by qualifying to compete for their age-group crown or a podium finish.

This year’s Age Group World Championships were held in conjunction with the Chicago Marathon on October 8. Cesar Lizano Cedeno, a 41-year-old runner from Costa Rica, was the men’s overall age-group champion in 2:24:05, while Japan’s Mai Fujisawa was the women’s overall winner in 2:41:43.

As of yet, there is no non-binary division at the WMM age-group world championships. Organizers have said there are not enough races that have non-binary categories with sufficient numbers to create meaningful competition, and, accordingly, the AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Rankings and Championships, are unable to offer a non-binary option for qualification. It has said it will keep the potential for a non-binary division under annual review.

The WMM series of races was organized in 2006 with Boston, New York, London, Berlin, and Chicago as the founding marathons in the circuit, and then the Tokyo Marathon was added in 2013. The WMM introduced the Six Star Medal in 2016 to honor the runners who complete all six marathons in the series. Through the completion of the New York City Marathon last fall, there have been a total of 8,143 six-star finishes from 104 different countries.

The U.S. has the most six-star finishers through 2022 with 1,544, followed by the UK (771), Italy (453), Germany (439), and China (400).

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World Marathon Major Candidate Cities

In addition to the Sydney Marathon, the other two cities in the running for the elusive seventh WMM race are the Cape Town Marathon in South Africa and the Chengdu Marathon in China. Danny Coyle, Chief Content Officer at the Abbott World Marathon Majors, said the earliest any of the candidate cities could pass the criteria and be selected as a World Marathon Major race is 2025.

Abbott WMM is working with strategic partner Infront Sports & Media—a subsidiary of Beijing-based Wanda Sports Group—to identify candidate marathons based on the same criteria.

“The candidacy process runs the full gamut from runner experience to things like course signage, aid stations, right the way through to [the] quality of elite fields in both the able-bodied and open elite divisions,” Coyle said. “Sydney, Cape Town, and Chengdu all remain in the process, and all three could become Abbott World Marathon Majors. Our mission here is to create and support opportunities for all to discover the power of the marathon. Expanding into new continents and territories helps us serve that goal.”

How to Qualify for the 2024 World Marathon Majors Age Group Championships

There are varying paths to qualify for the World Marathon Majors Age Group World Championships. First, the term “age-group” is key; an athlete has to be 40 or older to qualify for the championships. Second, runners also have to meet the automatic qualifying time in a qualifying race, or place high enough in the Age Group World Rankings. Age-group qualifying times range from 2:35 (men’s) and 3:05 (women’s) for the 40-44 age-group to 4:40 (men’s) and 5:25 (women’s) for the 80-and-older age-group.

There are currently only five races remaining in 2023 to qualify for the 2024 age-group championships—including the California International Marathon on December 3, the only North American race.

An alternate entry option to the 2024 age-group championships is via the virtual AbbotWMM Global Marathon Fall 2023, which has 200 invites up for grabs. Those taking part in the virtual challenge need to complete a 26.2-mile time trial with an approved device or app by the end of November 5, the date of this year’s New York City Marathon. (As of October 31, there are nearly 1,000 recorded finishes with the top 10 men between 2:33 and 2:46 and the top 10 women ranging from 2:51 to 3:09.) The 200 championship slots will be awarded in late December to the fastest finishers across all age groups based after verification of  individual results.

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