Guangzhou will host eight international sports events from September to December this year, including the 2019 Guangzhou Marathon, which has attracted great attention this year for several new features.

The eight upcoming international competitions that will be held in Guangzhou this year include the 2019 Guangzhou Marathon, the 2019 Guangzhou Open, the 2019 AFC Champions League Asia Guangzhou Division, the 2019 BWF World Tour Finals, the 2019 IFSC China Open, the 2019 Huangpu Marathon, the Conghua Mountain International Marathon, as well as the 3rd Guangzhou Nansha International Regatta 2019.

The city will also host seven national-level sports events, including Chinese Super League and Chinese Basketball Association league matches, according to the press conference held by the Guangzhou Municipal Government Information Office on Sept 12.

Guangzhou has successfully held a number of sports competitions earlier in the year from January to September. As of early September, 27 international sports events, 152 national-level sports events, 14 provincial-level sports events, and 148 municipal-level sports events have taken place in Guangzhou this year.

As for this year's Guangzhou Marathon, which falls on December 8, its highlights include more high-level and more international marathon runners participating in it. There are nearly 120,000 runners, including over 4,000 runners from 43 countries and regions that will participate in this year's race, an increase of 32 percent from last year. In addition, it has also attracted many high-level runners, among which the number of runners who are expected to finish the marathon within four hours increased by 45 percent compared with last year.

Guangzhou Marathon. [Photo/guangzhou-marathon.com]