ATHENS Cheap Denver Broncos Jerseys , Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- More than three decades after the launch of the Athens Classic Marathon and ten years after the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Greek organizers of the major sports event have high hopes for this year's celebration on Nov. 9, they told a press conference in the Greek capital on Thursday.
With a new record participation of 35,000 runners from worldwide in all road races Cheap Broncos Jerseys , including 13,000 Marathon runners for the classic 42,195 meters course, the Athens Classic Marathon is re-launched by the Hellenic Athletics Federation (SEGAS) as the "Athens Marathon. The Authentic".
The new name marks a new era for the Athens Marathon Cheap Brandon Marshall Jersey , organizers explained, hoping for a brighter future with more participants and spectators from across the globe.
The new title underlines the unique nature of the course run first 25 centuries ago by the ancient Athenian soldier Pheidippides who inspired the modern marathons. Participants in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens followed in his footsteps and thousands of athletes ever since.
Throughout the decades the Athens Classic Marathon turned into the biggest annual sports event for Athens and Greece and an opportunity to celebrate life and showcase the best image of Greece.
"Athens will experience in the next few days an international sports event, a celebration of life. We call on all Athenians to participate again," Greek Athletics Federation (SEGAS) President Kostas Panagopoulos said.
"We have big hopes for this year's Athens marathon the Authentic. Every year we try to tell the world that it is worthwhile for every runner around the world to come to run the authentic course Cheap Bradley Roby Jersey ," the event's General Coordinator Makis Asimakopoulos told Xinhua.
The original Athens race is a most challenging route with a unique historic context organized in a high level with all international standards, he noted, calling on more elite athletes and non professional runners to compete in the coming years.
A new race record could give further boost to SEGAS' promotion campaign.
"I think that this year we are going to have a record. We have brought the winners of last year, the best we can... Ten years after the Olympic Games in Athens Cheap Darian Stewart Jersey , after the record of Stefano Baldini, we hope that this organization will break the record on the authentic course and will give pleasure to all Athenians, Greeks and organizers, because we are all the legacy of the Athens Olympic Games Cheap Brandon McManus Jersey ," Asimakopoulos said.
A decade ago the Italian athlete covered in 2:10:55' the 42 kilometers distance from Marathon to the Panathinaic Stadium, the venue of the 1896 Olympic Games.
Among marathon runners this year will be Kenyan athlete David Kipkorir Rutoh, the 3rd winner of last year's Athens Marathon and Greek athletes Denise Demakis and Christoforos Meroussis.
"For Greek athletes it is a great joy seeing the Athens Marathon developing into a global event... I wish for a good race and best success to everybody," Demakis told the press briefing.
"The Authentic Marathon is a source of pride which promotes Greece's sports and culture. We all make continuous efforts to improve the event Cheap Todd Davis Jersey ," Meroussis added.
For Greeks the Athens Marathon is a great source of pride amidst the most difficult times of the four-year severe economic crisis.
"The Marathon organization gave people the chance to smile, to feel proud of what we are doing here and give them encouragement to work more to overcome these difficult times," Asimakopoulos stressed.
At the starting point of the original course of the 32nd Athens Classic Marathon among participants will be for first time as a runner Paco Rabao, the President of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS).
"This is the race every Marathon runner must run once in his life Cheap Domata Peko Jersey ," he said on Thursday.
Rabao will be surrounded by several Chinese participants this year thanks to the promotion efforts of SEGAS's representative in China Dimitris Kiriakidis, a resident of Shanghai since 1992 working in the shipping sector.
"In China the Marathon movement is increasing very much. There are many Marathons and many good runners participating and a lot of young people. Last year with the promotion we did we had 55 runners. This year we have 345 runners," he told Xinhua. He expects much more next year.
It is a striking increase compared to the 10-15 Chinese who participated each year on average in the Athens Marathon until 2012.
The website on the Authentic course in Chinese he created with the support of his Chinese wife made the difference.
Dimitris Kiriakidis is involved in the international Marathon movement since he was a child because of the legacy of his father Stelios Kiriakidis, one of the Greece's top Marathon runners.
The newly elected Mayor of the City of Marathon Ilias Psinakis also has high hopes for the participation of more Chinese in the event in coming years and the upgraded image of Marathon across the globe.
"The Parthenon Marbles belong to Greece Cheap Ronald Leary Jersey , but the Marathon belongs to the entire world," he told Thursday's press briefing.
The Athens Marathon race originates from the historic battle between Greeks and Persian forces in Marathon city 2,500 years ago.
According to legend, Pheidippides ran from the battlefield to Athens to announce the Greeks' victory and died of exhaustion.
His name has been connected to a feat which has inspired modern Marathons worldwide.
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