The organizers of the London Marathon are discussing the plan, not excluding the possibility of canceling the tournament due to outbreaks.
Currently, there are 87 cases of nCoV infection, the number of suspected cases tends to increase. This situation makes Health Secretary Matt Hancock dare not ensure the marathon will take place safely.
The London Marathon is one of the largest sports events in the UK, attracting around 45,000 athletes and about 1 million people to join the cheers. The calendar is expected to take place on April 26. “We are still discussing about potential risks,” said the organizers.
No final decision has been made, but organizers said they will comply with the recommendations from the government about organizing a crowded event.
With the disease continuing to spread rapidly, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Summer Games has announced that it can be postponed. The event is scheduled to run from 24/7 to 9/8.
London Marathon
London Marathon is the largest race run in the world held in London – England. The first ever cross-country race was held on March 29, 1981 and has since been held around March and April each year.
In addition to being one of the world’s largest marathons with a run length of 42,195 km, the London Marathon is also a sports competition in terms of the number of participants. The event raised more than £ 450 million for charity in 1981, and set a Guinness world record. In 2007, 78% of the athletes who participated in the event made a charitable donation. In 2011, the official charity charity London Marathon was established.
At the end of the registration day, the organizers noted that 43,221 athletes received their race-kit. There were about 42,750 athletes participating in the run on April 28, 2019, much better than the 41,000 runners last year.
With the number of registered athletes as above, the London Marathon 2019 is recorded as the running with the largest number of attendees after 39 years of organization. The organizers will also raise 1 billion through the #ThanksaBillion campaign.
The current record belongs to Eliud Kipchoge for men with a time of 2:03:05, and 2:15: 25 for women, set by Paula Radcliff from the United Kingdom.