OUR CLAIM TO SPORT CROWN

WILD weather can threaten all it likes. The Gold Coast Marathon weekend remains on track to be the biggest so far.

Elite athletes will be lining up for the 42km marathon tomorrow, since the event is a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Among the starters will be Japan’s Yuki Kawauchi, who will renew an old rivalry with Kenya’s Kenneth Mungara. The pair staged an epic finish at the 2016 marathon, with Mungara winning by just a second after the athletes sprinted to the line.

Indeed there will be thrilling finishes this weekend across all eight events that make up the program. More than 28,000 participants are competing for the pleasure that sport brings and for the sense of personal achievement. For each of them, just lining up for their race start will be a culmination of plenty of hard work and dedication.

Like other major events, the Gold Coast Marathon has come a long way, having negotiated an at-times rocky road to achieve the success it now enjoys and to become a major contributor to the city and state economies.

What a year for events it has been to date. The Gold Coast has hosted Magic Millions, Eurovision-Australia Decides, the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships, Bleach, Supanova, the SportAccord conference, the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, SeaFire, the Australian Open Bowls, Cooly Rocks On, Blues on Broadbeach and The Logies. Ahead lie the GC600 motor-racing weekend and the Schoolies festival. And of course last year, the Gold Coast was the sports world’s focus as it staged the Commonwealth Games.

Little wonder the city is the nation’s tourism, events and small business capital.