By the Sports Administration, Ministry of Education, R.O.C. (Taiwan)

The New Taipei City Wan Jin Shi Marathon, the only IAAF Silver Label Road Race held in Taiwan, started at 6am on March 17 at Feicui Bay, Wanli, New Taipei City. The event attracted more than 11,000 runners, with almost 350 foreign runners from 29 countries. The champions of the men’s and women’s categories, respectively, were Kenya’s Mathew Kipsaat and Naomi Jepkogei Maiyo, who finished the race in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 17 seconds and 2 hours, 34 minutes and 8 seconds, both breaking the race record. The champions of the domestic men’s and women’s categories were 2017 Taipei Universiade athletes Chou Ting-yin and Tsai Yun-hsuan, with the race time of 2 hours, 31 minutes and 51 seconds and 2 hours, 57 minutes and 41 seconds, respectively. 

The Sports Administration has cooperated closely with New Taipei City Government to make this event a Taiwan-brand international sports event as well as inviting higher level of international elite runners, increasing the number of medical aid stations and organizing four hours of live broadcast, as well as developing peripheral cultural and creative products. The Marathon is not just a sports event; it combines local tourism, art and cultural and creative industries to bring substantial economic value to Wanli, Jinshan and Shimen districts.

In this year’s event, the organizing unit invited 22 elite athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia, Japan, Mongolia and China. In addition, in line with the government’s New Southbound policy, 11 outstanding athletes were also invited from Singapore, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. After the race, all the international runners were full of praise for the scenery of the route and the overall high quality of the event.

The Sports Administration stated that the New Taipei City Wan Jin Shi Marathon has become a benchmark road race event in Taiwan. In future, the Sports Administration will continue to assist this event to gain higher level IAAF certification; more promotional, and tourism and other resources will also be committed to make this race an exclusive Taiwan-brand international event with the aims of marketing the imagery of Taiwan and driving local sports tourism, showcasing the magnificent scenery of the north coast of Taiwan to the world.