The Sydney Marathon went down over the weekend, and in case you missed it, it's now officially part of the Abbott World Marathon majors. What does that mean for the Australian running scene? Well, there were plenty of global athletes running the 42 km through the picturesque harbour-side streets of Sydney, and there were more eyes on the race than ever before. And, during both the women’s and men’s races, these elite athletes ensured that records were broken!
Dutch superstar Sifan Hassan took the first place trophy in the women’s race. With a time of 2:18:20, she became the first woman on Australian soil to finish a marathon in under two hours and 20 minutes. Hassan finished the race wearing her signature Nike Alphafly 3, the premier marathon supershoe in the Beaverton arsenal and kitted with a combo of Air Zoom units, ZoomX foam and carbon FlyPlate. Kenyan distance runner Brigid Kosgei placed second and also broke the Australian record, finishing at 2:18:56 – epic work!
28-year-old Ethiopian runner Hailemaryam Kiros shattered the Australian men’s marathon record by 12 seconds, setting a time of 2:06:06. It was a booming win for ASICS, who are one of the Sydney Marathon’s major sponsors, with Kiros being one of their team runners and rocking the elite METASPEED SKY TOKYO. Meanwhile, 40-year-old Kenyan running sensation Eliud Kipchoge arrived in ninth place, falling out of the leading pack around the 30-km mark and recording a time of 2:08:31.
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