About Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata
With Procam’s success in seeding the sport of distance running in the North, South and West of India, the City of Joy was a natural choice to bring the magic of this participative sport and spread wings in the East.
Traditionally, Kolkata had been a sports-crazy city – spectator sports like football, hockey, tennis and cricket take the city to the record books. The voracious nature of consuming sports was as thick as the gumption for art, culture and music. However, participative sport was a distant thought.
The first three years (2014-2016) the event focussed on harnessing Indian running talent - giving professional and amateur runners from the country a proven platform to showcase their talent.
Soon the sport caught the imagination of the people.
Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata, became the agent of change. With the choice of various race categories - 25K, the open 10K, the Ananda Run (4.5 km approx), Champions with Disability and the Senior Citizen’s Run (2.3 km), provided an opportunity for everyone to take centre stage regardless of their age, or abilities.
In 2017 Procam decided to take the event international to showcase world-class distance running action in the East. Moreover, it gave Indian athletes a chance to compete with the best in the world and test themselves before an international field.
Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata soon became the first AIMS and World Athletics Silver Label 25K in the world. Distance Running global icon Kenenisa Bekele won the race in 2017. Soon champions in long-distance flooded this circuit with Leonard Barsoton, Daniel Ebenyo in the men’s category and Sutume Kebede, Guteni Shone and Degitu Azimeraw etching their names on the honours roster. Top Indian athletes like Sudha Singh, Avinash Sable, Srinu Bughata and Abhishek Pal also used this circuit to build their distance running careers.
Today, Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata has redefined the health, fitness, inclusion, sustainability and giving paradigm in West Bengal.
The sport of running is firmly rooted as the fastest-growing sport in the city and has birthed the running ecosystem in the Northeast Region. The race strengthened the bond with civil society and raised INR 4.39 crores for philanthropic causes. The event encapsulates the city’s energy and spirit - encouraging citizens to come together, get involved, feel pride, celebrate and make a positive change in their community. It is the city’s greatest participative sporting festival that celebrates the People of Kolkata!
The 2023 edition for the first time witnessed 17500+ participants. Registrations oversubscribed across categories. To witness Daniel Simiu Ebenyo own the streets of Kolkata and clock 1hr.11mins:13secs, to break the men’s stand-alone World’s Best time ever in the 25KM distance was outstanding.
This success is a leap of faith and conviction of event sponsors, partners, the running community and the state and civic authorities.
In the throes of watershed changes, East India’s biggest participative sporting celebration now adorns a new avatar. Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata 2024 has been accorded the prestigious World Athletics Gold Label.
To be tagged as the first Gold Label 25K in the world, Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata is committed to making this race bigger better and filled with renewed vigour and enhanced running experience.
The world’s richest 25K, with prize money of USD 142,214, on Sunday, December 15th 2024 will witness some of the fastest athletes alongside amateurs on Sunday, December 15th, line-up on Red Road.