What's Happening
Abbott World Marathon Majors has confirmed the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon as the eighth member of the series, making it the first Major ever held on African soil. The race formally enters the series at its next edition on May 23, 2027, joining Tokyo, Boston, London, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago, and New York.
The confirmation came after Cape Town passed the second and final stage of its evaluation at the 2026 race, held May 24, which drew Eliud Kipchoge for his first official marathon on African soil. All finishers of the 2026 event received a provisional star that will be upgraded now that Major status is official. Cape Town had been a candidate race since 2022, when it became the first African marathon nominated to the process.
The general ballot for the 2027 race ran June 10 to 24, and entries for the accompanying Peace Run and Trail Runs opened July 3 at capetownmarathon.com. The event has committed to keeping two-thirds of race entries available to African participants.
"It gives me huge pleasure to welcome Cape Town to the family," said AbbottWMM CEO Dawna Stone, crediting the race's growth under CEO and race director Clark Gardner.
Why It Matters
Roughly 80 percent of the world's top 50 elite marathoners come from Africa, yet until now every Major sat thousands of kilometers from the continent, behind the cost of international travel, visas, and accommodation. Africa's first Major changes the math for both elites and recreational runners chasing stars on home soil.
For the broader running economy, an eighth Major adds a new destination race to the calendar and extends the star-chasing model that has turned the Majors into a global travel and participation engine. The Six Star medal remains for the original six races, but the goalposts are officially moving.
Bigger Picture
The series is not done expanding. The Shanghai Marathon, the third candidate race, needs a second successful evaluation on December 6, 2026 to join as the ninth member, which would put a new Nine Star medal in play as soon as 2027. After decades as a fixed club of six, the Majors have added Sydney and now Cape Town in back-to-back years, a deliberate globalization push that turns the series into a growth product rather than a heritage institution.
That expansion tracks with the post-pandemic running boom: record ballot demand at races like London, growing international race tourism, and sponsors like Abbott, Sanlam, and Infront betting that mass participation running still has room to run.
Sources
Abbott World Marathon Majors - https://www.worldmarathonmajors.com/content-hub/sanlam-cape-town-marathon-becomes-a-major
Abbott World Marathon Majors (2021 candidacy announcement) - https://www.worldmarathonmajors.com/content-hub/cape-town-marathon-becomes-abbott-world-marathon-majors-candidate-race