Buenos Aires, Argentina: Buenos Aires, the Argentinean capital city bidding to host the Youth Olympic Games [YOG] in 2018, has broken all national records for the number of participants taking part in public running events in 2012.
During 2012, Buenos Aires organised more than 100 mass participation running events which involved approximately 500,000 people taking to the streets of the city over the course of the year.
The Buenos Aires Marathon, an official IAAF classification race for the Moscow 2013 World Athletics Championships, is the most popular Marathon in Latin America and this year’s event saw a record number of 8,135 runners take part. This surpasses last year’s record participation of 7,225 runners. 14,589 runners also participated in the Buenos Aires Half Marathon in 2012, another record for the city. In addition, more than 3,500 volunteers helped to organise the two major road races.
The 2012 Buenos Aires Marathon competitors had the opportunity to run past some of the city’s most famous landmarks, including the River Plate Stadium, the proposed venue for the Buenos Aires 2018 YOG Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and the ‘Green Corridor’, a 3km stretch along the banks of the Rio de la Plata, another key sports venue zone outlined in the Buenos Aires 2018 YOG Candidature File.
Francisco Irarrazaval, Buenos Aires City Under-Secretary of Sports and Buenos Aires 2018 YOG Bid Committee CEO, said: "It is fantastic to see so many people compete and enjoy these mass participation sporting events. The outstanding success of these events as part of a city wide fitness drive shows the hunger and desire for sport in Buenos Aires and Argentina as a whole.
"Since 2008, participation levels have steadily increased in both the Marathon and the Half Marathon and it is important that we are helping the citizens of the city have the chance to take part in great sporting events. The passion for sport in Buenos Aires encourages us to continue promoting healthy living in the city."
As part of an on-going commitment to engage the youth of Argentina with sport, a 3km race for young runners aged 13 to 18 years old was also organised. Following this race, a special presentation was made to celebrate Argentinean Olympic Marathon champions at past Games. Family members of the past Olympic Gold Medallists [Juan Carlos Zabala – Los Angeles 1932, Delfo Cabrera – London 1948, Reynaldo Gorno – Helsinki 1952] received special recognition during the post-race celebration.
Francisco Irarrazaval added: "We hope that creating such events for Argentinean youngsters enables them to socialise and gain enjoyment through sport. The goal is to mobilise the youth population of Argentina and inspire them to compete in future Marathons and other sporting events."
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