Organisers of the TCS Sydney Marathon admitted an "unfortunate error" after the event's finisher medal was revealed to show Munich's Allianz Arena rather than Sydney's Allianz Stadium. The medal's "landmarks" side still features recognisable Sydney icons including the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House, but one stadium engraving matches the Allianz Arena in Munich. A TCS Sydney Marathon spokesperson said "We’re not going to run from it, it was an unfortunate error," and called the medal "a little more unique." The reverse of the double-sided medal features an indigo and gold design by First Nations artist Ambrose Killian representing kilometres of the course and the eight global major marathons; Killian told the BBC he was not involved in the other side of the design. The mistake was reported by the BBC and noted by running blogs, and the Munich stadium replied in a comment, "Oh wow, we didn’t have that on our bingo card." The marathon is scheduled for 30 August; in 2025 about 35,000 marathoners from more than 120 countries ran the event in its first year as a World Marathon major. Organisers said they will proceed with the event and focus on delivering a safe, spectacular weekend for participants.
