South Africa’s Cape Town Marathon is now Africa’s first event to scale to the Abbott World Marathon Majors running series.
According to details, the marathon, which will next take place in May 2027, joins seven other landmark international events, including the Boston and New York marathons.
Organisers say that the announcement this week brings the Majors brand to a continent whose athletes have dominated marathon running for much of the past two decades.
Runners from Ethiopia and Kenya have held the world record in the men’s race since 2003 and in the women’s event since 2019.
After completing its second successful evaluation at the 2026 event, Cape Town will not only become the eighth member of the series, but also Africa’s first Abbott World Marathon Major.
“It gives me huge pleasure to welcome Cape Town to the family,” said AbbottWMM CEO Dawna Stone.
“After watching the race grow in size and stature during its candidacy and also seeing the resilience and dedication of the team lead so wonderfully by Clark Gardner, Africa’s first Major has finally arrived.
“The unique culture, the welcome from the people of the city and the wonderful setting Cape Town provides will bring a whole new dimension to our series. I know runners in Africa and across the world will have a phenomenal experience at this race.”
