The 2026 Sydney Marathon medal mistakenly depicts Munich's Allianz Arena.
Organisers of the 2026 Sydney Marathon have sparked online mirth by unveiling a finishers’ medal depicting a stadium in far-away Munich, Germany.
The two-sided medal is engraved with a Sydney skyline showing course landmarks including the Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge – and the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Marathon
bosses admitted the “unfortunate error” in the medal, which displays the German arena’s shape and diamond-patterned exterior instead of the flatter features of Allianz Stadium in Sydney.
“A little too much international flavour has found its way on to the back of the finishers medal, with an incorrect depiction of the stadium,” the Sydney Marathon said in a statement.
“We’re not going to run from it, it was an unfortunate error, though it’s certainly given everyone something to talk about this weekend, mostly in good humour.”
The medal’s reception on social media was light-hearted.
“Oh, dear. Oh, this is bad,” Instagram account @morningcoffeerun said, speculating that someone may have mixed up the stadiums in an online search for Allianz.
Munich’s Allianz Arena treated the medal muddle with good humour.
“Oh wow, we didn’t have that on our bingo card!” it posted on Instagram.
“Perhaps they tried to find something else they had in common: Allianz Arena – Sydney Opera – Unique Architecture – Both are worth a visit!”
Australian media also had fun with the slip.
“The medal that will put Sydney on the map. The wrong map,” ran a headline in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The other side of the Sydney Marathon medal shows a widely praised blue-and-gold design by Indigenous artist Ambrose Killian, who told AFP he was not involved in the depiction of the Sydney skyline.
Marathon organisers say they expect a record of more than 40,000 participants who will earn the medal as a “badge of honour” for completing the 42.2km course.
