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Athens Halfmarathon - start - Photo: SEGAS
Huge success for the Athens Half Marathon 2018 that took place on Sunday March 18th
Despite the rain, thousands of runners.. „flooded“ the Athens City Center to participate in the 7th Athens Half Marathon.
SEGAS and the Municipality of Athens, with co-organizer the Region of Attica and Grand Sponsor ERGO, achieved a great leap in the entries, with the number reaching the 21.000 runners (19.100 in 2017), including almost 500 runners visiting from 55 different countries.
More specifically, the Half Marathon entries reached 6.300 (from 5.800 in 2017), in 5km Road Race NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE 10.700 (from 9.800 in 2017), in 3km WIND 3.150 (from 2.800 in 2017), and in the 1000m Run CHIQUITA 850 (from 600 in 2017).
The high level of competition prevailed for one more year. In fact, the performances included 3 new records per race, and the competition was really neck-and-neck up until the finish line! In addition to the „usual suspects“ and champions, many young participants „stole“ the show with great performances and managed to reach the top-3 and to be placed in medal positions!
„Athens Marathon. The Authentic“ wins the Gold Award as a Major Tourism Event in Greece.
The “Athens Marathon. The Authentic” is not only one of the most significant sport and cultural events in Greece, but a signature tourism event with tangible impact in the country’s economy.
The top sport tourism event of Greece could not be left out of the top annual awards “Tourism Awards 2018” presented yesterday evening. The Athens Marathon was awarded with one of the most important prizes of the night, the Gold Award as a Major Tourism Event.
This distinction showcases the huge legacy of the Authentic Marathon, not only within the sport community, but to the Greek community and economy as a whole. The Athens Marathon is not only a major sport event with 120 years of history, but an event that gives back to Greece more than 30 million Euros through its tourism income (direct/indirect) generated from runners visiting from abroad and outside Athens-Attica, charity and social initiatives, and through SEGAS’ and its sponsors’ expenses for the event.
With the constant support of Greek National Tourism Organization the Athens Marathon has been successfully promoted in countries abroad. In fact, since 2006, the Athens Marathon has been represented in more than 53 international EXPO’s of other significant Marathon events.
The 2018 Athens Marathon, with major sponsor OPAP, will be held on Sunday November 11th and runners from all over the world are showing intensive interest in being here and experiencing its magic. Our expectation is that more than 53,000 runners of all ages will participate in all of the event’s races, creating a huge festivity from Marathon city to the Panathenaic Stadium, making Athens again the sport capital of the World.
*The Tourism Awards is a set of awards recognizing excellence in the events, production, marketing, and communication industry, given annually by Boussias Communications and Marketing Week magazine.
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Source: Athens Half Marathon
