The 2024 Galaxy Entertainment Macau International Marathon will be held on Sunday, December 1, Sports Bureau (ID) President Luís Gomes announced during a press conference at the Galaxy International Convention Centre (GICC) in Cotai yesterday, adding that an all-online registration system will open for sign-up on Saturday for the marathon and half-marathon categories, and on Sunday for the mini-marathon, according to an ID statement yesterday.
The event is jointly organised by the Sports Bureau and the General Association of Athletics of Macau (AGAM) as well as the Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG), the statement noted.
According to the statement, a total of 12,000 spots are available for this year’s event, comprising 1,600 for the marathon, 4,800 for the half-marathon and 5,600 for the mini-marathon.
The races will start at the Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, with the marathon and half marathon races starting at 6 a.m. and the mini marathon race starting at 6:15 a.m. The marathon and half-marathon courses will cross the Governor Nobre de Carvalho Bridge (colloquially known as the old bridge) past the UNESCO World Heritage-listed A-Ma Temple and across Sai Van Bridge on the way back to the finish line, the statement noted.
Gomes pointed out in his speech that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the 25th anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland, which, he said, makes this edition of the Macau International Marathon “even more significant”.
“Hosting a variety of large-scale international sporting events will help to continually drive the sport development in Macau, and the synergistic effect of sporting events will bolster the city’s sports industry and appropriate economic diversification”, Gomes was quoted in the statement as saying during yesterday’s conference.
GEG Director Philip Cheng Yee Sing said that GEG will continue to host the GEG Handover Cup and the Galaxy Entertainment Macau International Marathon Carnival to enhance the festive spirit in multifaceted ways, and showcase Macau’s charm as a “City of Sports” to the world, the statement said.
To encourage participants to achieve great results, the ‘GEG Handover Cup’ will be introduced in this edition’s event, with winners to be awarded prizes from GEG, according to the statement.
AGAM President Chan Pou Sin noted that his association attaches great importance to the preparation and organisation of this annual large-scale running event, adding that it has started a raft of training sessions, including staff selection and recruitment, task training, and course measurement, in order to enhance preparations and arrangements for the event, the statement said.
The statement underlined that all those keen to join must have a personal online registration account for the event to sign up for the race. Those without an online account may create one via the official website, the statement added.
The statement noted that Visa, MasterCard, UnionPay, MPay, BOC Mobile Banking, UnionPay Online Pay, WeChat Pay China and Alipay China are all accepted for registration fee payments.
Members of the public may register on the event’s official website: www.macaomarathon.com, or via the “Macao International Marathon” mobile app, adding that participants may collect their number bib, timing chip, and the notes to participants on M/F of Broadway Macau™ between November 27 and November 30 by presenting their registration receipt and identification document.
Participants are reminded to carefully read the regulations and understand the race route, and are advised to prepare and practise for the event based on their own physical conditions. For more information, interested individuals may visit the official website www.macaomarathon.com, or follow the ‘Macao Major Sporting Events’ Facebook page, ‘澳門體育’ (Macao Sports) WeChat public account and ‘澳門特區體育局’ (Macao SAR Sports Bureau) WeChat subscription account.
This poster provided by the Sports Bureau (ID) yesterday promotes the upcoming 2024 Galaxy Entertainment Macau International Marathon.
