37,000 Women Runners Take Part in the 2016 La Parisienne' Road Race

37,000 women runners took part today (Sunday 11 September) in ‘La Parisienne’ road race in the heart of the Paris city-centre – the latest significant sporting occasion held in the French capital that highlights its expertise and experience in delivering major public events.

‘La Parisienne’, a race specifically for women, was established in 1997 when 1,500 runners competed in the event. With 37,000 runners in the 2016 edition, ‘La Parisienne’ is now the biggest race for women in the world.

The 6.7 km race weaved through the centre of Paris, starting at Pont d’Iéna and finishing at the Champs de Mars. The course also passed many of the iconic landmarks and distinctive venues that form part of the proposed Paris 2024 Games Plan. During the race, participants will ran past Esplanade des Invalides which will host Archery, alongside the banks of the River Seine where Triathlon and open water Swimming events will take place and the Eiffel Tower, which will provide a visually stunning backdrop for Beach Volleyball.

As well as public participants, a number of high-profile athletes also competed in ‘La Parisienne’, for example Olympian Sarah Ourahmoune who won a silver medal in Boxing at Rio 2016 in August.

The race was also accompanied by a celebration in the city with fun events and artistic performances for children and adults.

As well as being a significant mass participation sporting event, ‘La Parisienne’ is also a major fund-raising charity race – with money generated donated to aid breast cancer research and awareness.

‘La Parisienne’ follows on from the hugely successful Paris Marathon which took place in April this year – a record-breaking sporting event for the French capital that attracted 57,000 runners and 250,000 spectators.

Paris 2024 Co-Chairman, Bernard Lapasset, said:

"On behalf of everyone at Paris 2024, I wish to congratulate all the runners who participated in the 2016 ‘La Parisienne’ race. It was another weekend where the streets of Paris were filled with a wonderful festival of sport and my thanks also go to the race organisers and the fans who came out in their thousands to support the runners.

"Paris is a true city of sport with events like ‘La Parisienne’ race being part of the fabric of our social life in the capital and across France.

"Paris 2024’s promise is to harness this growing public interest and participation in sport and help the Olympic Movement create a new generation of fans who are fully engaged with the Games and Olympic sport."

The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, said:

"I am delighted for everyone who participated in today’s ‘La Parisienne’ race. This is a very special event for women that promotes active lifestyles and health and well-being.

"Through this race, the citizens of the city also celebrate gender equality, diversity, sharing, openness and friendliness – values that are inherent to our society and to our Paris 2024 bid.

"We have seen today that Paris is one of the world’s most iconic and cosmopolitan cities with historic landmarks and breath-taking venues offering an incredible live setting to showcase sport. Seeing all the runners race past these stunning cityscapes in the centre of Paris also highlights the compactness of our Games Plan, which makes it very attractive for athletes, sports fans and the Olympic Family with a view to 2024."

For more information, please contact:

Raphaël Leclerc

Paris 2024 Bid Committee

Email: rleclerc@paris2024.org

+33 6 73 16 88 06

Rob Fawdon

VERO Communications

rfawdon@verocom.co.uk

+44 (0)7769 216 649

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