Sydney Marathon engraves Munich stadium on medals

Sydney Marathon has mistakenly engraved Munich’s Allianz Arena on its race medals instead of Sydney’s Allianz Stadium, DR reports.

The medal features several landmarks from the race route, including the Sydney Opera House. However, the stadium shown on the design has the distinctive parallelogram pattern of the German arena rather than the structure of the Australian stadium.

A Sydney Marathon spokesperson acknowledged the mistake, describing it as “an unfortunate error” and saying the design had acquired “a little too much international influence”. The spokesperson said the organisers would not try to hide the error, which had given people something to talk about.

The medal design was revealed earlier this week, prompting press coverage and online reactions. According to BBC, participants who complete the race will receive the medal with the mistake. Sydney Marathon has described it as “a little more unique” for that reason.

The marathon will take place on August 30, with around 40,000 people expected to take part.