The first Chicago Marathon was held on September 25, 1977, and there were just over 4,200 athletes in attendance.
As such, the Chicago Marathon is the 5th of the 6 most prestigious marathons in the world influenced by COVID-19. Earlier, Boston, New York City, and Berlin Marathon (Germany) announced the cancellation of this year. Currently, only London Marathon 2020 (expected 4/10) will make a final decision on whether or not to hold the tournament on July 28 here.
Previously, the Tokyo Marathon held on March 1 had to cancel the attendance of about 38,000 athletes. It left only slots for more than 200 professional athletes to compete. This included many Japanese athletes running to get the achievement for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, this Olympic Games had to be pushed back to the summer of 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The London Marathon may not be held before October 2021
The London Marathon, one of the six most prestigious long-distance race in the world, is expected to not be held before October next year. Currently, the future of the London Marathon 2020 is still a question mark.
Earlier, the organizer announced to postpone the solution from April 26 to October 4, 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the complicated movements of the pandemic made this year still not sure whether to be organized or not. The final announcement of the London Marathon 2020 will be made on July 28.
In addition to this year’s tournament is on the verge of no organization, experts are concerned that even next year’s tournament will be difficult to be held in April each year as traditional. According to the Telegraph Sport, it is likely that the London Marathon will not be held before October next year.
The London Marathon 2020 is canceled to postpone to 2021. There is still no guarantee that the prize will take place on the April yearly schedule. This creates a very likely scenario for the first time in the 40-year history of this tournament, two consecutive years the tournament was not organized on schedule.