{"id":12818,"date":"2026-08-16T19:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T13:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/?p=12818"},"modified":"2026-08-16T19:00:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T13:30:14","slug":"colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombo Marathon 2026 receives official approval from World Athletics"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turning a new page in the history of Sri Lankan marathons, Colombo Marathon 2026 receives official approval from World Athletics<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The application submitted for the Colombo Marathon Sri Lanka 2026, scheduled to start from Galle Face Stadium, has been confirmed by the World Athletics Administrator and has been granted official approval to be published in the World Athletics Global Calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u200bOrganized on the special instructions and guidance of the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, this competition will be a World Rankings Competition, and the member federation has also received the license to use the relevant official labels and features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u200bAccordingly, the performances and records of the athletes participating in this competition will be directly included in the World Rankings, and this is the first time that Sri Lankan marathon runners will be given such an international privilege and opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This event is an officially registered international level event on the World Athletics Global Calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The event is scheduled to be held on 13 September 2026 at the Galle Face Stadium, Colombo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u200bEvent categories: Full Marathon (42.195 km), Half Marathon (21.097 km), 10 km Road Race, 5 km Fun Run and Kids Marathon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u200bParticipation: Over 4,000 local and international athletes.<br>\u200bThis internationally sanctioned event, jointly organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka, will provide a huge boost to Sri Lanka\u2019s sports tourism industry and will place Colombo on the world sports map as a major global city hosting international marathons.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Turning a new page in the history of Sri Lankan marathons, Colombo Marathon 2026 receives official approval from World Athletics The application submitted for the Colombo Marathon Sri Lanka 2026, scheduled to start from Galle Face Stadium, has been confirmed by the World Athletics Administrator and has been granted official approval to be published in&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,67],"tags":[3399,3398,1219,73,134,3400],"class_list":["post-12818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletic","category-national-athletics","tag-colombo-marathon-sri-lanka-2026","tag-ministry-of-youth-affairs-and-sport","tag-national-olympic-committee-of-sri-lanka","tag-slsports","tag-sports-news","tag-world-athletics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Colombo Marathon 2026 receives official approval from World Athletics - SL Sports<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"si_LK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Colombo Marathon 2026 receives official approval from World Athletics - SL Sports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Turning a new page in the history of Sri Lankan marathons, Colombo Marathon 2026 receives official approval from World Athletics The application submitted for the Colombo Marathon Sri Lanka 2026, scheduled to start from Galle Face Stadium, has been confirmed by the World Athletics Administrator and has been granted official approval to be published in...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SL Sports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lknewsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-16T13:30:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-16T13:30:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/col-2026-08-16.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Slsports Viraj\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SlSports5\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SlSports5\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Slsports Viraj\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Slsports Viraj\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/person\/6e3ead9806ed4f2b4ddfc9faa69328a5\"},\"headline\":\"Colombo Marathon 2026 receives official approval from World Athletics\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-16T13:30:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-16T13:30:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/\"},\"wordCount\":250,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/col-2026-08-16.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Colombo Marathon Sri Lanka 2026\",\"Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sport\",\"National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka\",\"slsports\",\"sports news\",\"World Athletics\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Athletic\",\"National Athletics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"si\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Marathon 2026 receives official approval from World Athletics - SL Sports\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/col-2026-08-16.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-16T13:30:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-16T13:30:14+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"si\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"si\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/col-2026-08-16.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/col-2026-08-16.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Colombo Marathon 2026 receives official approval from World Athletics\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/\",\"name\":\"SL Sports\",\"description\":\"SL Sports - Sri Lanka&#039;s Premium Sports Channel\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"SL Sports\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"si\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SL Sports\",\"alternateName\":\"SL Sports\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"si\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/WhatsApp-Image-2023-12-03-at-16.24.18.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/WhatsApp-Image-2023-12-03-at-16.24.18.jpeg\",\"width\":666,\"height\":591,\"caption\":\"SL Sports\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lknewsroom\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/SlSports5\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@SLSPORTSLK\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/slsports17\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/person\/6e3ead9806ed4f2b4ddfc9faa69328a5\",\"name\":\"Slsports Viraj\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"si\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b7b872708dd3b24ab7ceb718fb4835bba36cbdff96449029958bb51f410e614d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b7b872708dd3b24ab7ceb718fb4835bba36cbdff96449029958bb51f410e614d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Slsports Viraj\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/author\/slsports-viraj\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Colombo Marathon 2026 receives official approval from World Athletics - SL Sports","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/","og_locale":"si_LK","og_type":"article","og_title":"Colombo Marathon 2026 receives official approval from World Athletics - SL Sports","og_description":"Turning a new page in the history of Sri Lankan marathons, Colombo Marathon 2026 receives official approval from World Athletics The application submitted for the Colombo Marathon Sri Lanka 2026, scheduled to start from Galle Face Stadium, has been confirmed by the World Athletics Administrator and has been granted official approval to be published in...","og_url":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/","og_site_name":"SL Sports","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lknewsroom","article_published_time":"2026-08-16T13:30:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-16T13:30:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/col-2026-08-16.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Slsports Viraj","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SlSports5","twitter_site":"@SlSports5","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Slsports Viraj","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/"},"author":{"name":"Slsports Viraj","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/person\/6e3ead9806ed4f2b4ddfc9faa69328a5"},"headline":"Colombo Marathon 2026 receives official approval from World Athletics","datePublished":"2026-08-16T13:30:13+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-16T13:30:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/"},"wordCount":250,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/col-2026-08-16.jpg","keywords":["Colombo Marathon Sri Lanka 2026","Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sport","National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka","slsports","sports news","World Athletics"],"articleSection":["Athletic","National Athletics"],"inLanguage":"si","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/","url":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/","name":"Colombo Marathon 2026 receives official approval from World Athletics - SL Sports","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/col-2026-08-16.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-16T13:30:13+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-16T13:30:14+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"si","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"si","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/col-2026-08-16.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/col-2026-08-16.jpg","width":1200,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/colombo-marathon-2026-receives-official-approval-from-world-athletics\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Colombo Marathon 2026 receives official approval from World Athletics"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/","name":"SL Sports","description":"SL Sports - Sri Lanka&#039;s Premium Sports Channel","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#organization"},"alternateName":"SL Sports","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"si"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#organization","name":"SL Sports","alternateName":"SL Sports","url":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"si","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/WhatsApp-Image-2023-12-03-at-16.24.18.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/WhatsApp-Image-2023-12-03-at-16.24.18.jpeg","width":666,"height":591,"caption":"SL Sports"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lknewsroom","https:\/\/x.com\/SlSports5","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@SLSPORTSLK","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/slsports17\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/person\/6e3ead9806ed4f2b4ddfc9faa69328a5","name":"Slsports Viraj","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"si","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b7b872708dd3b24ab7ceb718fb4835bba36cbdff96449029958bb51f410e614d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b7b872708dd3b24ab7ceb718fb4835bba36cbdff96449029958bb51f410e614d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Slsports Viraj"},"url":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/author\/slsports-viraj\/"}]}},"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12818"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12820,"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12818\/revisions\/12820"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}