Historia


The Cantones Grand Prize is born

In 1987 the International Cantonese Grand Prize was born, after a year of incessant efforts and no less organizational work, on May 16, 1987 at 7:00 p.m.

The first edition of the G.P Cantones Internacional under the sponsorship of the Provincial Council of A Coruña with the collaboration of the City Council and the Xunta de Galicia.

Despite being the first edition, it had the presence of no less than 4 Olympic medalists, 1 champion and 6 European medalists, making this event the most relevant worldwide, a circumstance that continues to this day, and that makes the city from A Coruña a world reference in athletics.

I Edition of the Cantonese International Grand Prize

I Edition of the Cantonese International Grand Prix, the first edition would become an event in the city. In its streets, the best protesters in the world would parade and compete in a festive atmosphere.

Damilano (22), Canto (18) Gustaffson (21) would form the first podium of Cantones

Promoters and followers

An event of these characteristics was made and is possible, thanks to the work, effort, support and decision of a large number of people, organizations and institutions.

Local institutions were and continue to be decisive as well. In the first edition (1987) it was the Provincial Council of A Coruña, chaired by Enrique Marfani who sponsored the event, but from the following year the City Council of A Coruña assumed that commitment, with the clear commitment of all its mayors being decisive: Paco Vázquez (1987-2006); Javier Losada (2006-2011); Carlos Negreira (2011-2015); Xulio Ferreiro (2015-2019) as well as the current mayor, Inés Rey, (2019-2021).

At the level of sports leaders, they were the last two presidents of the Galician Athletics Federation: Sergio Vázquez, from 1987 to 2006, initial promoter, and Isidoro Hornillos (2008-2021), who took over and kept the competition at the highest level to the present.

Cantons as a promotion of the march

One of the priority objectives of the Cantonese Grand Prize is to publicize the specialty among society and promote it among the base of our athletics.

For this reason, from the second edition of this event, promotion tests, talks and visits to schools and clubs would be established by many of the participating international marchers.

International Galician marchers

Partly thanks to the work of the promotion, the Galician march has become one of the leading specialists in our athletics. In the last thirty years, many Galician marchers have achieved international status, all of them passing through Cantonese.

With their respective premiere international appearances, Carmen Escariz and Antía Chamosa represent the future of our march. They both grew up athletically with Cantones.

IAAF Race Walking Challenge Mundial

In 2005 the IAAF would create a scoring world walking circuit made up of the best world walking competitions.

A Coruña is the only city in the world that has been present on the Challenge circuit in all the editions disputed so far.

Cantonese multinationality

In all these editions, marchers from the five continents passed through A Coruña representing 63 countries.

A Coruña headquarters of the Spanish Marching Championship

In 2020, the Cantonese Grand Prix would host and contest the LXXII Spanish Road Walking Championship. In this way, several editions of the Spanish Veterans Championship would be disputed.

World Cup-2006

The Marching World Cup was undoubtedly the most important test of all that have been disputed.

A representation of athletes from more than twenty countries and the presence among others of the IAAF president would make A Coruña the epicenter of world athletics.

The Russian Denis Nizhegorodov, in the upper photo would be proclaimed the winner in the 50km, in the central and lower image respectively the Spanish walker Francisco Fernández "Paquillo" and the Belarusian Rita Turova winners of the 20 km.

Final of the Challenge 2011

The final of the Challenge 2011 would proclaim the Russians Valery Borchin and Olga Kaniskina winners of both the Cantonese Grand Prix and the Challenge circuit, whose final test would take place in the streets of A Coruña as the stage.

I European Cup 1996

A Coruña would be the chosen setting for the I Marching European Cup that would bring together the best countries of the old continent.

Olympic Champions in Cantons

  • LIU HONG (GOLD RIO) 20 K
  • WANG ZHEN (GOLD RIO ) 20 K
  • MATEJ TOTH (GOLD RIO) 50K

Liu Hong World Record

The world record of the Chinese Liu Hong in 2015 over the 20km, was one of the stellar moments of the Cantonese Athletic March Grand Prix that would serve to guarantee the quality of the circuit, as well as to certify the event as a clear reference to world level. The characteristics and singularities of the circuit and the city make it unique.

Cantonese, a lot of sensations

All the great values ??of sport are represented in the almost 30 years of Cantonese by the hand of its authentic protagonists, the marchers.

Palmares do G.P. Cantons

IAAF Heritage

En el año 2019 la IAAF concedería el premio de prueba Patrimonio del Atletismo Mundial al Gran Premio de Marcha Cantones de La Coruña – Sergio Vázquez este reconocimiento viene de la mano de otros dos, convirtiéndose Cantones en la segunda mejor prueba de la década, sólo por detrás de la Copa del Mundo, y la mejor prueba del año 2019.

It was officially awarded by the IAAF, March 29, 2019, being the first and only Spanish event to be recognized with such recognition.

Sebastian Coe: “When it comes to running on foot, there are few competitions that match the size and history of the encounter in A Coruña, Spain. The Cantones de A Coruña Annual Grand Prix (1987), which hosted the IAAF World Cup in 2006, is a beacon of excellence and the oldest meeting of the IAAF marching circuit".

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