It was a historic day at the Sydney marathon over the weekend, as the fastest marathon ever run on Australian soil was set in both the women’s and men’s fields.
In the women’s race, Workenesh Edesa Gurmesa (ETH) laid down a new record to beat, running the Sydney course in an impressive 02:21:41. She beat the previous record of 2:24:33 set by Kenyan Stellah Barsosio in 2019.
Gurmesa also shattered the record for the fastest marathon ever run by a female on Australian soil, breaking Naoko Takahashi’s 2:23:14 mark from the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.
To top off the emotional win, Takahashi flew in from Japan to witness Gurmesa’s landmark feat, arriving in Sydney just ahead of the race.
In the men’s race, Brimin Kipkorir Misoi (KEN) ran an incredible time of 02.06.18 breaking the course record and setting the fastest marathon ever run by a male on Australian soil.
One of Australia’s greatest athletes Madison de Rozario claimed victory in the wheelchair marathon with a blistering time of 01:54:10, just one week after claiming a silver medal at the Paris Paralympic Games.
De Rozario, who also won last year’s TCS Sydney Marathon Elite Wheelchair race, successfully defended her title.
“I am exhausted – it’s been a really big week,” de Rozario told SMH.
“These are about 42 of the hardest kilometres that any of us will ever do. The distance itself doesn’t normally level me, but this specific marathon does. It’s a really challenging course that Sydney has, but it’s incredible.”
Sydney runners certainly showed up this year as the TCS Sydney Marathon, presented by Asics, claimed the record for Australia’s largest ever marathon, with 25,000 registered participants, breaking the record set by the event last year of 17,000 participants.
The marathon also had an official headphone partner, ShokzAU which is known for the latest craze in the running world– open-ear headphones that use bone conduction to let runners stay aware of external surroundings.
This year, the TCS Sydney Marathon was entering its final year as a candidate for a coveted spot as an Abbott World Marathon Major. The six major marathons already include New York, Tokyo, Boston, Berlin, London and Chicago.
One of the main requirements is having a minimum of 15,000 runners in the field, which was already achieved with the record field of 17,000 last year.
Providing all of the assessment criteria was met on Sunday, Sydney should hear about a final decision within the coming weeks.