Recreaiional and alhletic sports are an impo.tant stilch in lhe cily's social fabic. The cjty, where most of the Slate's alhletes irain, has
produced numercus alhlsles of iniemational calibre. Domestically,
the State is a top achiev€r ofien surpassing athletic offods and rcsulls of much bigggr States. The succsss of sports is due pimarily to the lact lhat there is a multitude of spoftng options available in lhe city. One of lhe aims of sports is to encourage a heallhy lifestyle for all levels
of lhe
society. The city offers a
microcosm of lvalaysia's natural environment to
l€in
in. The hitts
ofler highland areas, lhe sea ofiers the coastal perspective of lhe co!'ntry aod the city olf€rs l,4alaysia's world-class sporting facilities. There are a few inl€mational level sporting events lhat take place in
Georgelown. Such evenls are normally held in areas lhat lake advantage of lhe nalural and man-made elements of the istand. The Penang Bridge Run is the most prestigious evenl held annually. The run ulilises the Penang Eridge as a route ofthe maft hon. lt is an ingenious use of facililies and has eveo been adapted by lhe Second Link to Singapore. The lnternalional D€gon Boat Race is anoih€r annual eveni lhal utllises water bodies on the island like lhe Telok Bahang Dam. With such hjgh-profile events, th€re is constant €ncouragemenl to its r€sidents lo take up a healthy and sporty lifeslyle. ln addition to organising ev6nts, the localgov€mmsnt hastaksn