On November 30, 2024, AbbottWMM’s Chief Content Officer Danny Coyle appeared in a podcast to answer some burning questions from the running community. After Sydney Marathon officially became the 7th Majors race, what’s going to happen to the prestigious six-star medal?
In short: nothing.
Danny made the point very clear: There’s no change to the famous combo medal whatsoever. If you complete the six original marathons in the future – Boston, NYC, Chicago, Berlin, London, and Tokyo – you will still receive the six-star medal just like before.
So “continue to pursue your dream” is the message.
Danny mentioned that currently there are 12,790 people who are just one star away, and additional 22,000 runners who have completed four of the six marathons. For this reason alone they will not sunset the 6-star program.
If you’re just starting to chase the six stars today, you can still do it. The program is staying.
Sydney Marathon does not count toward the six stars, only the original six.
Will there be a 7-star medal?
The answer is no. If you’ve earned the 6 stars and also completed the Sydney Marathon (in 2025 or beyond), you can purchase a display case or find another creative way to put them together, but there won’t be an official AbbottWMM 7-star medal.
In fact, there won’t be a 8-star medal either, even if Cape Town, Shanghai, or another marathon becomes part of the family in the near future.
However, there is plan to produce an official 9-star medal.
It means that a few years from now when there are nine marathon majors, there’ll be a gigantic 9-star medal for you to proudly display.
Does the 2024 Sydney Marathon count as a World Majors race?
No, unfortunately. The 2024 Sydney Marathon was still being evaluated as a candidate, it passed, and then became a Major afterwards. So Sydney Marathon will only be part of AbbottWMM starting in 2025.
However – there’s always a twist – if you were invited as an age-group champion to the 2024 Sydney Marathon, then it does count. You’re now one step closer to the potential 9-star medal.
You can find more information from the podcast here, which is nearly an hour long:
The Six Star Finisher program began in 2013 when Tokyo joined the five founding Majors. The Six Star medal, however, was not created until 2016, when the first two medals were awarded to Barbara Fleming-Ovens and David Mark, in Tokyo.
With Sydney now accepted into the Majors family, there are two additional candidates going through the same two-year assessment process. If all goes well, Cape Town, South Africa, and Shanghai, China could join the Majors in 2026 and 2027, respectively.