- The Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) entered into a long-term exclusive partnership with the Wanda Sports Group in 2017 giving them the exclusive rights to identify three major marathon events for potential inclusion in the AbbottWMM series by entering into the candidate race process.
- Since the beginning of the partnership, two races have been put forth by Wanda to be included in that process – the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon and the Chengdu Marathon.
- Following the sale of The IRONMAN Group (who operates the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon) by the Wanda Sports Group, the Singapore race is no longer a part of that candidate process. Wanda Sports Group has the exclusive right to put forward these races.
Since its inaugural event in 1982, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon has served hundreds of thousands of runners from around the globe, showcasing one of the world’s great cities.
Building upon an already well-established World Athletics Gold Label Race, The IRONMAN Group began organizing the event in 2016 and utilized its organizational standards and staff expertise as the world’s largest mass participant event organizer, evolving the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon to the international success it is today.
Even in the midst of a global pandemic, organizers were able to produce an event in 2020 thanks to the successful launch of the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon Virtual Club platform that welcomed 124,000 registrants during 15 weeks of virtual races and challenges leading to the pinnacle and innovative Grand Finale hybrid race, which featured ground-breaking augmented reality, drawing an additional 12,000 participants from 69 nations around the world. Runners collectively clocked 106,269 KM and raised SGD$1 million which Standard Chartered Bank donated to the Community Chest to help empower and nurture youths.
Prior to the pandemic, event organizers had the privilege of working with the Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) team for three years as a candidate race thanks to the AbbottWMM long-term partnership with the Wanda Sports Group, their recognition of a great event in a great city and the support of major event partners like the Standard Chartered Bank, Sport Singapore, and Singapore Tourism Board.
With the Wanda Sports Group retaining the exclusive rights to the next three AbbottWMM event additions, the candidacy of the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon is no longer a viable option.
Alongside its partners and key stakeholders, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon team remains committed to delivering world-class race experiences and will continue its efforts in producing a signature event for the global running community that exhibits the many great qualities of Singapore.
Race organizers are working diligently and closely with relevant government agencies and authorities to consider the best way forward for the 2021 event and will be guided by the prevailing safe management measures in Singapore. Additional information will be shared with runners and partners and made available on Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon digital platforms in due course.
The IRONMAN Group would like to thank the runners and community for their unwavering support for Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, especially their core partners Standard Chartered Bank, Sport Singapore, and Singapore Tourism Board, and look forward to what the future brings as they collectively focus on creating world class running experiences for individuals of all ages and abilities around the world.
They also wish both AbbottWMM and the Wanda Sports Group the best in their continued partnership.
