Lugano remembers Marco Borradori with the sixth edition of the Trophy

The city of Lugano is staging the sixth edition of the Marco Borradori Trophy, set for Saturday 26 September. The mayor died on 11 August 2021, and the event keeps his memory alive within the Stralugano, the city race held each year at the end of summer.

The race that awards the Trophy is the ten-kilometre CityRun along the lakefront, starting at 6.15pm. Alongside the overall classification, there are awards for the first Swiss athlete and the first Ticino athlete across the line. The prize-giving is set for 7pm in Piazza Manzoni, in the presence of mayor Michele Foletti, municipal and cantonal authorities and Borradori's family.

The prize is a bronze sculpture, a one-off piece made this year by the artist Elisabeth Hübscher in collaboration with the Perseo foundry in Mendrisio. The decision to have the sculpture remade each year, rather than pass on a fixed trophy, ties the award to those who make it as much as to those who receive it.

Borradori had been mayor of Lugano since 2013 and before that spent almost twenty years in the cantonal government, following a period in the federal chambers. His sudden death at sixty-two came in midsummer and midway through his term. The Trophy was created the following year and has been held every September since.

The race is sanctioned by the Ticino athletics association and supported by the city. Information on entries and routes is available on the Stralugano website.