The Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) and The IRONMAN Group have issued separate statements regarding the Abbott World Marathon Major candidacy for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.
The AbbottWMM Series comprises the six major marathons: the Tokyo, Boston, Virgin Money London, BMW BERLIN, Bank of America Chicago and TCS New York City marathons.
Back in 2017, AbbottWMM reached an agreement with Wanda Sports Group to expand the AbbottWMM Series with events to be added in new regions such as Asia (outside Japan) and Africa. In total, three events were to be nominated by Wanda.
Early on in the partnership, Wanda put forward two races – the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon and the Chengdu Marathon. However, following Wanda’s sale of IRONMAN and its race assets (including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon) to Advance in March 2020, the Singapore race has been dropped from the candidate process.
In short, The IRONMAN Group’s independence from Wanda Sports, following its sale, means that IRONMAN’s Singapore Marathon is no longer on the table to be a Abbott World Marathon Majors event.
In its release, AbbottWMM notes that ‘Wanda Sports Group has the exclusive right to put forward these races.’
Statement from Abbott World Marathon Majors
‘The Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) entered into a long-term exclusive partnership with the Wanda Sports Group in 2017 giving them the exclusive rights to identify three major marathon events for potential inclusion in the AbbottWMM series by entering into the candidate race process.
‘Since the beginning of the partnership, two races have been put forth by Wanda to be included in that process – the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon and the Chengdu Marathon.
‘Following the sale of The IRONMAN Group (who operates the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon) by the Wanda Sports Group, the Singapore race is no longer a part of that candidate process. Wanda Sports Group has the exclusive right to put forward these races.
‘We would like to thank all those connected to the Singapore race for their partnership and collaboration over the years.’
Statement from The IRONMAN Group
‘Since its inaugural event in 1982, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon has served hundreds of thousands of runners from around the globe, showcasing one of the world’s great cities.
‘Building upon an already well-established World Athletics Gold Label Race, The IRONMAN Group began organizing the event in 2016 and utilized its organizational standards and staff expertise as the world’s largest mass participant event organizer, evolving the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon to the international success it is today.
‘Even in the midst of a global pandemic, organizers were able to produce an event in 2020 thanks to the successful launch of the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon Virtual Club platform that welcomed 124,000 registrants during 15 weeks of virtual races and challenges leading to the pinnacle and innovative Grand Finale hybrid race, which featured ground-breaking augmented reality, drawing an additional 12,000 participants from 69 nations around the world.
‘Runners collectively clocked 106,269km and raised S$1 million which Standard Chartered Bank donated to the Community Chest to help empower and nurture youths.
‘Prior to the pandemic, event organizers had the privilege of working with the Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) team for three years as a candidate race thanks to the AbbottWMM long-term partnership with the Wanda Sports Group, their recognition of a great event in a great city and the support of major event partners like the Standard Chartered Bank, Sport Singapore, and Singapore Tourism Board.
‘With the Wanda Sports Group retaining the exclusive rights to the next three AbbottWMM event additions, the candidacy of the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon is no longer a viable option.
‘Alongside its partners and key stakeholders, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon team remains committed to delivering world-class race experiences and will continue its efforts in producing a signature event for the global running community that exhibits the many great qualities of Singapore.
‘Race organizers are working diligently and closely with relevant government agencies and authorities to consider the best way forward for the 2021 event and will be guided by the prevailing safe management measures in Singapore. Additional information will be shared with runners and partners and made available on Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon digital platforms in due course.
‘We thank our runners and community for their unwavering support for Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, especially our core partners Standard Chartered Bank, Sport Singapore, and Singapore Tourism Board, and look forward to what the future brings as we collectively focus on creating world class running experiences for individuals of all ages and abilities around the world.
‘We wish both AbbottWMM and the Wanda Sports Group the best in their continued partnership.’
www.worldmarathonmajors.com
www.abbott.com
www.singaporemarathon.com
www.ironman.com
