This is a companion article to a forthcoming deep dive analysis article on the Cape Town Marathon cancellation and the impacts thereof. The article takes a look at the reasons behind other major marathons getting cancelled, marathons run in high wind and deals with the Peninsula Marathon argument.
Previous World Marathon Major Cancellations
Aside from Covid, there have been a very small number of Abbotts World Marathon Majors (AWMM) event cancellations. They are largely irrelevant in the comparison to the Cape Town Marathon (CTM) cancellation as the circumstances are very different.
The cancelled events are as follows.
New York Marathon 1995: The wheelchair division was cancelled a few minutes before the scheduled start time because 72km/h gusts of wind at the startline on Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. The gusts resulted in some planks that were erected to protect the bridge’s surface being ripped off and blown around. Organisers were concerned that lightweight racing wheelchairs, which can easily be destabilized by crosswinds, would be blown over or pushed into barriers on the bridge and therefore cancelled the wheelchair race. The able-bodied race (the vast majority of the field) continued as planned. The organisers faced criticism of discrimination, poor communication and not consulting with the wheelchair athletes when making the decision.
It is noteworthy that in 2014, New York Marathon runners faced sustained wind of 32-40km/h and gusts of up to 80km/h but the full event went ahead as planned. The organisers learned their lesson from 1995 and the wheelchair start was altered to fully accommodate this division.
Continue reading “Major Marathon Cancellations, Windy Marathons and the Peninsula Marathon Argument”
