Eagle-eyed fans have spotted an embarrassing blunder in the freshly designed Sydney Marathon Medal.
The medal was unveiled a handful of days ago to great fanfare, and in the announcement it highlighted the Indigenous design and Sydney landmarks around the edges.
“The markings around the edge represent each kilometre of the course, while the eight circles on the back represent the World Marathon Majors. A beautiful Sydney skyline brings the course to life, featuring the landmarks runners will experience along the way — starting with the Sydney Harbour Bridge and finishing at the world-famous Sydney Opera House,” the marathon’s official social media account said.
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The intial response was overwhelmingly positive until some fans looked a little harder. They then noticed one of the landmark buildings was in fact not in Sydney. Indeed, it wasn’t even in Australia.
“Ohhh, this is bad,” influencer James Dunn of the morningcoffeerun told his 50,000-plus followers in a video captioned “Sydney Marathon major mess up”.
“So this is the Sydney Marathon Medal. And this, this is celebrating all the lovely Sydney sites. You’ve got the Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge … and the Allianz Arena in Munich.
“Because someone Google searched the wrong thing and got the Allianz Arena rather than the Allianz Stadium, which is in Sydney. Oh dear.”
Buried in the mostly positive comments about the medal, some fans also spotted the error.
“Is one of them the Allianz Stadium in Munich?” ‘professional slowjogger’ PatoPeaking asked.
While a fan responded: “100% it is… very funny. This will be the history.”
When unveiling the new medal design on Instagram, the Sydney Marathon account said: “Meet your 2026 TCS Sydney Marathon Medal …
“At its heart is Sydney. A meeting place and symbol of connection, community and Country … the medal celebrates Sydney’s place on the world stage and the achievement of every participant who crosses the finish line.
“This is a badge of honour for the 42.2km you cover on 30 August and the story behind it that got you there. “This is your 2026 medal. Wear it with honour.”
With the race scheduled for next Saturday, it is impossible to imagine that the error will be amended.
Thousands of runners are expected to compete in this year’s Sydney Marathon.
In fact, some 40,000 runners have been accepted for this year’s event from more than 120,000 ballot entries.
Ahead of last year’s event, the Sydney Marathon earned its place on the Abbott World Marathon Major calendar.
It became the seventh marathon to be declared a major, joining Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York.
Sydney Marathon organisers have been contacted for comment about the medal blunder.
