Records Fall at Sydney Mara
A record crowd of 400,000 spectators lined the streets of Sydney today as 36,296 participants from more than 140 countries crossed the finish line at the Sydney Opera House, the largest crowd in the history of the TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS.
“What you saw today was a city that has fallen in love with this event,” said Wayne Larden, Race Director, TCS Sydney Marathon. “Four hundred thousand people on the streets, Guinness World Records and personal bests being set on the same course, an Olympic swimmer and a Wimbledon champion finding out what 42 kilometres feels like. That is what a marathon does. It puts everybody on the same road.”
Former world number one tennis player Ash Barty ran her first marathon and crossed the line in 04:16:40 alongside her sister, the pair finishing hand in hand in front of the Sydney Opera House to one of the loudest receptions of the day.
She was not the only Australian sporting great taking on a first. Australia’s most decorated Olympian Emma McKeon completed 04:41:30 in what was not just her first marathon but the first running event of her life, swapping the pool for the pavement in front of a home crowd.
Nedd Brockmann produced his greatest ever marathon performance, stopping the clock at 02:21:48 and taking 8 minutes and 18 seconds off his previous best of 02:30:06. He was followed by Olympian boxer Harry Garside who also banked a personal best, running 02:36:36 to the delight of spectators lining the course.
Bondi’s lifeguards swapped the sand for the streets and posted times most weekend runners would happily claim. Jackson Doolan led the tower home in 03:28:39, quick enough to have finished inside the top fifteen per cent of the field. Trent Maxwell followed in 03:47:00 and Luke Faddy completed the trio in04:29:19, all three covering rather more ground than a standard shift on North Bondi. Bragging rights at the tower belong to Doolan until at least next August.
Two of rugby league’s toughest competitors went head-to-head on the streets of Sydney, a decade after helping deliver Cronulla’s historic 2016 premiership. Former Cronulla Sharks Hooker Michael Ennis claimed bragging rights in the friendly battle as the quicker of the pair in 03:33:53. His captain, Paul Gallen, crossed in 05:00:26, adding 42.195 kilometres to a post-football career otherwise spent in the boxing ring.
No group embodies the event’s history like the Blue Line Legends. The six runners have completed every TCS Sydney Marathon since the inaugural race in 2001, and they take their name from the blue line painted on the road to guide the marathon field at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Twenty six editions later, all six crossed the finish line once again.
Six Guinness World Records were set on the Sydney course. The fastest of them belonged to Toby Fuller, who ran 03:18:01 to claim the fastest marathon by a man with multiple myeloma, while Chris Fyvie set the record for the fastest marathon by a man with a subcutaneous defibrillator in03:36:27.
The remaining four were claimed in costume, and none of them slowly. Kent Ohori ran 03:28:27 dressed as a can, Phil Brent went 03:45:52 as a reptile and Rebecca Joyner took the women’s record for the fastest marathon dressed as a scout in 03:55:37. Nilhari Bhandari completed the set in04:07:06, running the distance in traditional Bhutanese dress.
The TCS Sydney Marathon is supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. The event is owned by Australian Athletics and managed by Pont3.
For more information please visit: www.tcssydneymarathon.com