By Craig Zammit
SYDNEY: Samsung has announced it will help celebrate the 30th Birthday of the Melbourne Marathon on 7 October 2007, confirming its continuation as naming rights sponsor of the event for the second year in a row.
“As the Melbourne Marathon turns 30, and with a final lap around the MCG, this year’s event will truly be historic,” said Samsung Electronics Australia general manager – corporate marketing, Kurt Jovais.
“We are encouraging our employees and retail partners to put on their trainers and join Team Samsung, which will include players from the Samsung-sponsored Melbourne Victory to race in this year’s event. With a long standing association with Australian sports, we are proud to continue our sponsorship of the 2007 Melbourne Marathon.”
This iconic event will take on a new course in 2007, running along Melbourne’s Bayside and finishing up with a lap of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Competitors who take on the full 42.195km Samsung Melbourne Marathon will become part of history as the marathon becomes only the third such event to have ever crossed the finish line at the MCG.
This year, Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Kerryn McCann, will join Samsung as an Ambassador to provide training tips to entrants leading up to the event and also encourage the community to join in the spirit of the Samsung Melbourne Marathon.
The male and female winners of the Melbourne Marathon will be sent to Korea by Samsung to compete in the Seoul Marathon in March 2008. Additional prizes include over $27,000 worth of prizes for competitors including LCD TVs, mobile phones, mp3 players and digital camcorders.
The Samsung Melbourne Marathon joins a long-list of Samsung Australia supported sports properties, including the Sydney Roosters, the 2007 Grand Final winning A-League football team Melbourne Victory Football Club, Quiksilver, Roxy and the global wireless communications partner for the 2008 Olympic Games.