From an Opening Ceremony that will not be held in an Olympic Stadium, to the first Olympic Village nursery for competitors' children, the Paris Olympics 2024 are set to change the way the quadrennial zenith of sporting excellence is viewed forever, notably in the presentation of the marathon, which will be held on a testing course with 436m ascent, 438m descent, and a maximum gradient of 13.5%.

The marathon is one of the most iconic events of the Olympic Games. The men’s marathon has traditionally been held on the final day to bring the Olympics to a close. In Paris, the running order will be reversed to showcase performances by women athletes. The women’s marathon will now be held on the last day of competition (Sunday 11 August 2024) a few hours before the Closing Ceremony, with the men’s marathon taking place the day before.

The reversal of the conventional order and the marathon route are inspired by a key moment from the French Revolution: the Women’s March on Versailles on 5 October 1789. On 5 and 6 October 1789, market women, shopkeepers, and workers collected before the Hôtel de Ville in Paris and demanded bread and arms. Between 6,000 and 7,000 Parisian women, joined by men, marched through Paris to Versailles to bring the King back to the Tuileries. Louis XVI agreed that day to ratify the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens.

In another change, the Olympic Marathon course will be used for two mass participation races held at night, with 2,024 athletes in the 10K and another 2,024 running the full marathon – a first for any Olympics. The route will link the Hôtel de Ville in Paris to the Palace of Versailles, following a loop rich with history, passing through nine of the Ile-de-France region’s districts: Paris, Boulogne-Billancourt, Sevres, Ville d’Avray, Versailles, Viroflay, Chaville, Meudon and Issy-les-Moulineaux.

Meanwhile, retired US Olympian Allyson Felix has partnered with Pampers to open the first ever free-of-charge Olympic Village Plaza nursery for competing mothers and their children. Felix retired in 2022 after winning 11 Olympic medals (seven golds) in five Olympics – the most medals ever won by a woman in Olympic athletics – while raising a family.

Felix, who recently joined the Athlete's Commission at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said: "It was top of my mind to support athletes who are mothers. It's a space where families can get away from it all and have some of the comforts of home. They can have playtime and have places to feed their babies."

In a world of change, the athlete's creche seems too long to have arrived, so well done Allyson and the IOC.

To read more about the public events at the Paris Olympic Marathons click here.

Photo: Allyson Felix by Vinod Divakaran on Flikr