The Shanghai Marathon got another step closer to being among the top races in the world on Tuesday as Abbott World Marathon Majors revealed that the event passed its second candidacy stage.
The event was first assessed in 2024, evaluated last November and will be monitored against on December 6 when the city hosts its next race.
“We have seen a fantastic level of commitment from the Shanghai team throughout their candidacy,” AbbottWMM CEO Dawna Stone said. “Their hard work has put them firmly on the pathway to success and our evaluation team was very impressed with the event they witnessed in November. We have high hopes that the race will continue on its promising trajectory and make their dream a reality.”
If approved, Shanghai would become a major in 2027 and join Tokyo, Boston, London, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago and New York — as the eighth major.
“Shanghai Marathon stands as one of the city’s most influential sport events,” Xu Bin, director general of the Shanghai Administration of Sports said. “We will spare no effort in supporting the race to reach even higher standards, and we look forward to officially joining the Abbott WMM family in the near future. Through top-tier international sport events, we will accelerate Shanghai’s development into a globally renowned sports city.”
Sydney is the most recent addition to the majors group and staged its first race as an upgraded event last August. The race previously took place in late September.
Meanwhile, the Cape Town Marathon is continuing its own bid to become a major and will also be reassessed by Abbott officials.
Last year’s race in October was canceled hours before the start after high winds damaged parts of the course and the route was deemed unsafe. The event will now take place on May 24, remain a spring race, with Eliud Kipchoge choosing Cape Town as part of his global tour of seven marathons on seven continents. It will be Kipchoge’s first marathon in Africa.
