Macau Marathon
Road
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  1. 2AAE2A
DateEarly December
LocationMacau, China
DistanceMarathon
Est1981 (age 45)
RecordMen: 2:10:01 (2017)
Felix Kirwa
Women: 2:28:43 (2020)
Zhang Deshun
SponsorGalaxy Entertainment
HomepageMacau Marathon
Participants759 finishers (2021)[1][2]
741 finishers (2020)[3][4][5]
1,057 (2019)
1,048 (2018)

The Macau International Marathon (Chinese: 澳门国际马拉松; Portuguese: Maratona Internacional de Macau) is an annual road running event held in the special administrative region of Macau adjacent to mainland China, since 1981. The marathon begins and ends at the Olympic Sports Centre Stadium. Since 1998, three races have been held at each edition: the full marathon, a half marathon, and a shorter mini-marathon of roughly 6.5 km (4.0 mi) in length.[6]

History

The event was first held in 1981 under the organisation of the Panda Running Club and was the first international marathon to be held in the region. The Macau Athletic Association took over organisational duties in 1987 and the race was accepted as a member of the AIMS Racing Group in 1990.[7]

In 1997, the annual marathon race was suspended due to the opening of the Macau Olympic Stadium, but a half marathon was held for the first time in its place that year, maintaining the race continuity.[7]

In 2012, marathoners ran up to an additional 3 km (2 mi) due to a marshalling error, and many half marathoners also ran about 1 km (0.6 mi) more than intended due to a number of issues.[8]

Course

The course begins and ends at the Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, and traverses the Taipa and Hengqin islands as well as the Cotai zone.[9][10]

Sponsorship

The event is sponsored by Galaxy Entertainment Group, a casino and hotel investment company.[11]

Participation

The marathon race attracts a majority of overseas runners, with average yearly totals of around 500 entrants and 400 finishers. The marathon's participation record was achieved in 1984, with 1121 runners starting the race and 932 of them finishing. The shorter distances are more popular with both Macau and foreign athletes. Since its introduction in 1997, the half marathon has gone from 348 finishers to a record high of 1279 finishers in 2006. The mini-marathon was inaugurated a year after the half marathon and instantly gained high participation (1111 runners took part in 1997 and a high of 1767 participants was reached in 2009).[12]

In addition to the large numbers of amateur runners who take part in the event, the marathon features elite level runners from East Asia, Africa and Europe.[13]

Winners

Key:

Course record (in bold)
Held as half marathon
Ed.YearMen's winnerTime[a]Women's winnerTime[a]Rf.
11981Tom Flett (Hong Kong)2:41:42Tak Wai (Hong Kong)3:12:42
21982Antonio Eratavo (Italy)2:21:54Fung-fan Wong (Hong Kong)3:17:18
31983Antonio Eratavo (Italy)2:25:00Yuko Gordon (Hong Kong)2:58:26
41984Antonio Eratavo (Italy)2:24:29Fung-fan Wong (Hong Kong)3:00:04
51985Antonio Eratavo (Italy)2:20:18Yuko Gordon (Hong Kong)2:48:18
61986Antonio Eratavo (Italy)2:26:47Fung-fan Wong (Hong Kong)3:41:16
71987Zhang Guowei (China)2:16:21Hong-wei Tang (China)2:58:24
81988Chao-ai Gao (China)2:19:18Elizabeth Hintz (Hong Kong)2:57:03
91989António Costa (Portugal)2:18:37Suk-yee Lau (Hong Kong)3:07:11
101990António Costa (Portugal)2:17:37Yi-Lo Man (Hong Kong)2:58:25
111991António Costa (Portugal)2:17:58Yi-Lo Man (Hong Kong)2:52:54
121992Jerry Modiga (South Africa)2:18:31Yi-Lo Man (Hong Kong)2:51:18
131993Hu Gangjun (China)2:19:12Li Yemei (China)2:39:20
141994Paulo Catarino (Portugal)2:15:28Li Yemei (China)2:38:18
151995Henrique Crisóstomo (Portugal)2:15:39Li Yemei (China)2:40:47
161996Dong Jiangmin (China)2:16:30Yelena Makolova (Belarus)2:40:13
–1997Hezron Otwori (Kenya)1:02:55Beatrice Omwanza (Kenya)1:15:31
171998Henrique Crisóstomo (Portugal)2:19:44Lyubov Denisova (Russia)2:37:55
181999Kim Jung-won (North Korea)2:15:21Kim Chang-ok (North Korea)2:34:57
192000Willie Mtolo (South Africa)2:19:25Lu Jingbo (China)2:47:15
202001Benjamin Matolo (Kenya)2:18:58Ren Xiujuan (China)2:42:11
212002Zhu Ronghua (China)2:19:09Catherine Leonard (United Kingdom)3:20:49
222003Kasirayi Sita (Zimbabwe)2:15:58Catherine Leonard (United Kingdom)3:16:25
232004Adam Dobrzyński (Poland)2:16:30Dai Yanyan (China)2:37:27
242005Philip Bandawe (Zimbabwe)2:19:49Natalya Volgina (Russia)2:40:59
252006Peter Kemboi (Kenya)2:18:56Phyo Un-suk (North Korea)2:38:27
262007Ri Kum-song (North Korea)2:17:40Phyo Un-suk (North Korea)2:38:27
272008Yemane Tsegay (Ethiopia)2:15:06Yuan Lili (China)2:36:40
282009Mihaylo Iveruk (Ukraine)2:17:45Roman Gebregessese (Ethiopia)2:37:08
292010Tekesete Nekatibebe (Ethiopia)2:16:15Wang Xueqin (China)2:37:37
302011Stephen Chemlany (Kenya)2:12:49Tsega Gelaw (Ethiopia)2:31:48
312012Haile Haja (Ethiopia)2:23:56[b]Ehitu Kiros (Ethiopia)2:50:10[b]
322013Julius Maisei (Kenya)2:12:43Kim Mi-gyong (North Korea)2:36:32
332014Julius Maisei (Kenya)2:14:45Flomena Chepchirchir (Kenya)2:33:24
342015Vitaliy Shafar (Ukraine)2:14:44Olena Shurkhno (Ukraine)2:33:24
352016Peter Some (Kenya)2:12:52Kim Ji-hyang (North Korea)2:36:16[14]
362017Felix Kirwa (Kenya)2:10:01Eunice Kirwa (Bahrain)2:29:12
372018Elijah Kemboi (Kenya)2:15:18Mercy Kibarus (Kenya)2:35:16
382019Tafese Delelegn (Ethiopia)2:12:53Lucy Cheruiyot (Kenya)2:31:17
392020Dong Guojian (China)2:12:59Zhang Deshun (China)2:28:43[5][4]
402021Yang Shaohui (China)2:13:04Zhang Deshun (China)2:29:09[1][2]

Wins by country

CountryMen's raceWomen's raceTotal
5914
9413
11112
437
257
606
505
213
022
202
202
011
011
101

Notes

  1. ^ h:m:s
  2. ^ The course was 3 km (1.9 mi) too long due to a marshalling error on the course.[8]

References

  1. ^ "2021 Marathon (Male Group)". 2021 Galaxy Entertainment Macao International Marathon. Archived 5 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  2. ^ "2021 Marathon (Female Group)". 2021 Galaxy Entertainment Macao International Marathon. Archived 5 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  3. ^ China’s Guojian Dong wins 2020 Macao International Marathon Archived 6 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ 2020 Marathon (Female Group)Archived 6 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ 2020 Male Group Archived 6 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Course Map. Macau Marathon. Retrieved on 2011-12-24.
  7. ^ Event History. Macau Marathon. Retrieved 24 December 2011
  8. ^ "Macau Marathon 3K Too Long; Race Says Runners Share Blame". 5 December 2012. Archived 2020-10-27 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ^ "Macau Marathon map 2020". Archived from the original on 7 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  10. ^ "Marathon rules". Archived from the original on 7 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  11. ^ December 2011 AIMS Results. AIMS. Retrieved 24 December 2011
  12. ^ Statistics. Macau Marathon. Retrieved 24 December 2011
  13. ^ 6,000 runners vie in Macau tilt. The Philippine Star (12 November 2011). Retrieved 24 December 2011
  14. ^ "Kenyan and North Korean win marathon". Macau Daily Times. 2016-12-05.
List of winners