Arabic version: تدخل في الميناء يؤمّن ميداليات الماراثون لعدّائي ساحل صن شاين
According to ABC News, a last-minute intervention at the Port of Brisbane has cleared medals and merchandise for the Sunshine Coast Marathon Festival after shipping delays left a container stranded on the dock.
More than 16,000 participants are expected to take to Sunshine Coast streets on Sunday, a record for the event. Runners were told in an email late on Wednesday that they might not receive a medal after crossing the finish line, despite the items having been ordered months earlier.
Event director Jason Crowther said the container of T-shirts and medals reached the Port of Brisbane on Tuesday. It had originally been due to arrive on July 3, with the shipping company attributing the delay to issues at the point of origin and a typhoon. Crowther said organisers did not consider missing finisher medals acceptable and thanked port officials for releasing the shipment.
Port of Brisbane executive general manager Brendan Connell said officials identified the container and arranged for it to be sent to the Sunshine Coast after learning of the problem through a media enquiry. He said staff set aside other work to help resolve the issue, while noting that the complex circumstances could not ordinarily be repeated for individual freight requests.
The festival draws runners from around Australia and provides a winter tourism boost for the region. Tourism officials estimated last year’s Sunshine Coast race weekend generated about $10.5 million for the local economy.
