World Athletics to Launch Standalone Marathon Championships in 2030
World Athletics has unveiled plans for a landmark shift in global distance running with the creation of a dedicated World Athletics Marathon Championships beginning in 2030.
The marathon will continue to feature at the World Athletics Championships in 2027 and 2029, but from 2030 it will move to its own standalone event.
From 2031 onwards, the marathon, and other road running distances, will no longer be part of the World Athletics Championships. Instead, the new championships will be staged annually, with men and women competing in alternate years.
Athens has emerged as the preferred host for the inaugural edition, with formal exploratory discussions now underway.
In parallel, World Athletics and the Hellenic Athletics Federation (SEGAS), supported by the Region of Attica, have agreed a strategic partnership to elevate the Athens Marathon The Authentic to the highest tier of global road racing.
The race has already been awarded Elite Label status, with ambitions to reach Platinum Label by 2029.
‘We are delighted to be exploring the possibility of a standalone World Marathon Championships with Athens, the place where this iconic discipline was born. Few events in sport carry the weight and resonance of the marathon; it is both a test of the very highest performance and a celebration of mass participation,’ World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said.
The Athens Marathon, scheduled for 8 November 2026, will serve as the first milestone in this transformation, aligning its registration and participant services with World Athletics’ Elite standards.
