“We still need a lot of negotiation with the authorities regarding the entry number, but are glad we can now fix a date which suits the runners,” Kwan Kee, chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Athletics Affiliates, said.

Kwan revealed that officials had initially expected to hold the race in February, after Lunar New Year “because of other events to be held at Victoria Park”.

“But thanks to the efforts made by all parties involved, we have resolved the problem,” Kwan said.

After hosting the race successfully earlier this year, organisers had wanted to hold a second event in November, but there were concerns that having another one later this year would be too close to the one in 2024.

It will also be the first time the championships have been held since the pandemic, with the city hosting the event for the fifth time. Runners from across the region are expected to compete, and Kwan said the decision to award the race to the city “strengthened Hong Kong’s status as an international event capital”.

“It is a great honour to be invited to host the Asian Marathon Championships after eight years,” he said. “The Hong Kong Marathon is a gold-level road race recognised by the World Athletics, and is also a large-scale international sports event under the ‘M’ brand in Hong Kong.

“The race set for January will provide ample time for attracting more international athletes to participate. We hope the cool weather will elevate runner’s performance and bring better results.”

A significant event in Hong Kong’s sporting calendar, the 2020 race was cancelled by the government just two weeks before it was expected to start in February, causing organisers to lose more than HK$10 million.

Covid restrictions meant the 2021 event was not held until the October, and the total entries were slashed by 75 per cent from previous years to only 18,500.

A disagreement over the date of the race between organisers and the government forced the postponement of the event in 2022 until February this year.