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She also spoke about the significance of the event becoming more accessible to differently-abled athletes , including participants competing in a wheelchair . “ It ’ s great to see athletes of all walks of life being recognised . The race is making a point to embrace diversity and provide an opportunity for differentlyabled athletes to take part , which is significant , because they are just as passionate about the sport of running as the rest of the field .” of this beautiful city , and making it even more spectator-friendly . We ’ ll continue to look at how we can improve the runners ’ experience from their first touchpoint at the Expo through to their last at the finish line .”
Proud to be Part of It
Commenting on the new partnership with the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon , Senior Brand Director at adidas , Kate Woods said , “ It ’ s an honour to come on board as the technical sponsor , and we look forward to supporting the race in achieving World Marathon Majors status . Globally , adidas partners with two of the other World Marathon Majors in Boston and Berlin , and we will bring the same level of innovation and running expertise to the Cape Town Marathon . As a start , we have unveiled the adidas Marathon Jacket , and it ’ ll be available for pre-order on the Cape Town Marathon website . The jacket is made from 100 % recycled material and comes with a full-length zip , pre-shaped sleeves , droptail hem and 360-degree reflectivity for high visibility on the road .”
She adds that “ adidas has a long and proud history when it comes to running . Our founder , Adi Dassler , handcrafted leather track shoes with extra length spikes for Jesse Owens at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games , who went on to win four gold medals at that event . Since then , we ’ ve innovated behind the scenes to help some of the world ’ s most accomplished athletes such as Haile Gebrsellaise , Kibiwott Kandie , Rhonex Kipruto , Senbere Teferi and Peres Jepchirchir perform at their best . Last year , adidas athletes achieved an incredible 60 % podium wins and 40 % of all podium finishes at the World Marathon Majors , setting eight World Records across varying track and field distances !”
Neheng Khatala , as well as two dynamic SA trail runners , Toni McCann and Bianca Tarboton , who both recently joined the global adidas Terrex team .
Steyn is excited about her transition to adidas , saying , “ I joined adidas at the beginning of the year because I ’ d received great feedback from international athletes about the brand ’ s values . What stood out for me was how invested they are in women ’ s sport , which is something I ’ m really proud to be a part of .”
Having raced competitively at the 2021 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon , Steyn says it ’ s an event that all elite athletes should experience . “ In addition to being the only Abbot World Marathon Majors candidate in Africa , this is the only marathon in Africa with a World Athletics Label , plus you get to see an amazing city while you run .”
Paralympic gold medallist in the T47 400m , Anrune Weyers , was also at the launch and spoke about her running goals for 2022 : “ Since my achievement at the Tokyo Paralympics , I ’ ve been reflecting on my journey as a track and field athlete , and would like to branch out into different distances of running , including potentially running the Marathon distance in 2022 .”
For more details on adidas and the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon , please visit adidas . co . za or www . capetownmarathon . com .
Runners will be able to find the most innovative adidas footwear and apparel at the race expo , as well as an adidas-branded Cape Town Marathon clothing range . Each marathon entrant will receive a complimentary event tee as part of their entry .
Images : Courtesy adidas
Growing adidas Family
When it comes to investing in running locally , adidas has welcomed a few new members to its family , including current South African women ’ s marathon record-holder Gerda Steyn and fellow Olympic Marathon runner from Lesotho ,
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