It was a fortuitous omen when the Shanghai Formula 1 was announced to be returning next year. Catering to an attendance of over 140,000 in its last outing, Shanghai's marquee international sporting event has been on hold since 2019. (Lewis Hamilton won it for Mercedes if you will recall). Perhaps the triumphant return of the F1 signals this city's (re) embrace of spectacle, sporting celebrity, and diversion after a pretty drab few years.
Along with the big race — slated for April 19 to 21 in 2024—Shanghai is hosting a series of comparable, big-time sporting events in the near future. We're still waiting to hear about a few: the WGC-HSBC Champions,for one, THE top golf event in China. It's still in the wind, of course, but its absence from the fall scheduleof PGA Tour is fueling our doubts. The Longines Global Champions Tour is also giving Shanghai a miss in 2023. Alas.
But here's a round-up of other main sporting events you canlook forward to, however:
Spartan Race - Hurricane Heat
- Chinese name: 斯巴达勇士飓风赛
- Date: Saturday, August 19
As one of the world's most popular extreme obstacle races, the Spartan Race offers open heats for all fitness levels, as well as elite and age group heats for people with something to prove. The four-hour Hurricane Heat is a military-style team-based event. Attendees can expect physical tasks, problem-solving... problems, leadership challenges, as well as solo performance tests under extreme conditions.
Snooker Shanghai Masters
- Chinese name: 斯诺克上海大师赛
- Date: September 11-September 17
Since the pandemic shutdowns, China has not hosted a single professional snooker event, a tough situation to be in, considering the popularity of the sport in this country and the success its citizens have enjoyed on the international stage. The World Snooker Tour is making up for lost time, officially announcing that China will host three snooker events this year: the Shanghai Masters in September, the Wuhan Open in October, and the Tianjin International Championship in November.
The Rolex Shanghai Masters
- Chinese name: 上海劳力士大师赛
- Date: October 2-October 15
Along with the F1, the other Shanghai international sporting event that everyone goes crazy for is the Rolex Shanghai Masters. Organizers,Juss Sports have confirmed the tennis tournament will happen at Qizhong Tennis Center in Minhang, right in the midst of Golden Week, running to mid-October. All your favorite tennis celebs are expected to be in attendance, including Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev. Even the retired Roger Federer himself will join for a public event.
Shanghai hasn't hosted the Masters since 2019 when Daniil Medvedev defeated Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
UCI Cycling Women's World Tour - Tour of Chongming Island
- Chinese name: 环崇明岛国际自盟女子公路世界巡回赛区
- Date: October 12-October 14
The international road cycling competition will be held at the eco-friendly island again, just outside of Shanghai, making up for last year's cancellation. The occasion is marking the 20th anniversary of the world-class cycling event since the tour first came to Chongming Island in 2003.
ISU Shanghai Trophy 2023
- Chinese name: 上海超级杯
- Date: October 3-October 5
The ISU Shanghai Trophy is an annual international skating competition organized by the Chinese Skating Association.Invited international skaters are competing in the disciplines of short-track speed skating, synchronized skating, and figure skating. One for Winter Olympics devotees looking for international competition. This one's going to beheld at Oriental Sports Center, in the first week of October.
Head of Shanghai River Regatta
- Chinese name: 上海赛艇公开赛
- Date: October 21-October 22
Although the official date of the two-day river regatta rowing event is still pending and might change when we get closer to the Golden Week holidays in October, organizers are promising that it ill go ahead again in 2023, on Suzhou Creek in Shanghai. The event has become a favorite of locals in Shanghai, allowing for both professional and amateur competition.
Shanghai International Marathon
- Chinese name: 上海国际马拉松
- Date: November 26, Sunday
Shanghai's premier marathon even since 1996 is making its return on Sunday, November 26. The Platinum Label Road Race is one of China's most popular marathons. It hasn't been happening since 2020, when they did a kind of a social distancing version of the race with fewer allowed participants. In its heydey, it allowed for 18,000 runners to compete in full, 10K, and mini marathon categories.Final registration for the full marathon is yet to open.
Still plenty of time to train...
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