Xinhua News Agency, Cape Town, October 19 (Reporter Wang Lei, Wang Xiaomei) The Organizing Committee of the 2025 Cape Town Marathon announced on the 19th that the event was temporarily cancelled for safety reasons due to the damage to the event facilities by strong winds.

In a statement issued at 5 a.m. on the same day, the organizing committee said that the strong winds that lasted from the evening of 18 to the morning of 19 caused serious damage to the finish facilities, including damage to tents, scratching of logs on fences and pedestrian shelves, and a safety risk to the runners and pedestrians in the competition area. The organizing committee unanimously decided to cancel the competition after an emergency meeting with the joint operating committee consisting of the Cape Town Disaster Risk Management, Security and Security Department, medical services institutions and South African police department.

The Cape Town Marathon is the only World Cup marathon in Africa, with around 24,000 runners participating this year. Since the race was scheduled to start at 6:15 a.m. on the 19th, many runners have already arrived at the starting point or are on their way to the starting point when the organising committee temporarily announced the cancellation.

Clark Gardner, Chief Executive Officer of the Cape Town Marathon, said: ¡°We have been preparing for various situations and weather conditions for months, but in the end the forces of nature have decided everything. We deeply apologize for this. We thank all participants, sponsors and stakeholders for their support and understanding.¡±