Boston Marathon 2021 has the fewest runners in 15 years

With 20,000 athletes, the Boston Marathon 2021 will record the lowest number of athletes competing since 2005 – the year of the tournament only 20,453 athletes.

In the year of its 100-year organization – in 1996, the Boston Marathon had 38,708 runners – set a record for the world’s most crowded marathon runner. In 2019 – the most recent year before the outbreak of Covid-19, the Boston Maraton also recorded 30,000 participating athletes.

However, limiting the number of athletes participating is an important condition for the Boston Marathon this year. The organizers – the Boston Athletics Federation (BAA) – are planning to ensure the best possible social distance for athletes across the 42,195km track, especially the starting and finishing zones.

“Along with a smaller scale than in previous years, we also have regulations to ensure the safety and well-being of participating athletes. We make sure to keep the world’s oldest marathon safe. as possible, “said Tom Grilk, CEO of BAA.

The Boston Marathon 2021 will open for registration from 10:00 am on April 20 and close at 5:00 pm on April 23, Boston time, on the Athletes’ Village website. Regulations on Boston standards (BQ) remain the same as in previous years. Only qualified athletes, who have competed in World Athletics-recognized tournaments, are allowed to register for the Boston Marathon. The results of athletes in the tournaments from September 15, 2018 to the present will be accepted for registration. BAA will select the athletes according to the rule of ranking from high to low, based on the time the athletes register, until the number is reached.

For athletes who register through the form of buying bib to donate to charity, the organizers allow group registration and also starts from April 20. 20% of the Boston Marathon’s BIBs are retained by the organizers for charities.

According to the organizers, they have prepared a special medal form to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the tournament. Registration fee, Covid-19 prevention regulations when participating in the event, regulations for athletes will be announced by the organizers in the near future.

This year, the Boston Marathon also opened a virtual running tournament for 70,000 athletes around the world to participate. Registration will be open from 10:00 a.m. on March 30 (local time) on the Athletes’ Village page. The organizers will close registration when enough 70,000 athletes.

For those who miss the qualifying rounds of the live tournament in Boston, they will be given priority to register for the virtual tournament. The Boston Marathon virtual will take place from October 8 to October 10. Participants must be over 18 years old, complete the 42,195km distance within the allotted time and receive the completion medal.

Due to the fear of not controlling the epidemic, all major leagues in the world such as Boston, London, Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Berlin … are backward and take place in the fall of this year. Elite runners are therefore difficult to schedule. Usually, they plan to race one tournament in the spring, one in the fall. This year, everyone will have to choose.

Not only Boston, the organizers of the New York Marathon or Los Angeles Marathon also confirmed that they will plan to limit runners. During the epidemic free years, events in Boston, Chicago and New York attracted a total of more than 130,000 runners, generating tens of millions of dollars for the organizers, ensuring budget payments, organizing work .. .

The Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest running competition, held annually on the third Monday in April, starting in 1897, inspired by the success of the 1896 Summer Olympics run. out annually in Boston and ranks as one of the most popular sporting events. The Boston Marathon is also a member of the world’s six largest running system – the World Marathon Majors. This year, the organizers have delayed the competition from April to October due to the impact of the pandemic. Events in 2020 must switch to online competition.

The Boston Marathon organizers started implementing a cut-off based on performance limits for runners since 1970, when the number of participants was overcrowded and the track was not guaranteed. Starting from the 4 o’clock mark for the Full Marathon (42,195 km), the cut-off mark will gradually decrease to 3 hours and 30 minutes and more recently to 3 hours.

From only 18 registered runners in 1897, the Boston Marathon is now the dream tournament of millions of runners around the world. Since 2015, the number of athletes participating in the Boston Marathon has reached 30,000.

Thuy Lien synthetic