The world’s fastest marathon runners will arrive in Sydney this weekend looking to make history.
Sydney will officially join the list of Abbott World Marathon Majors as the Australian city welcomes 35,000 runners from across the globe – including some of the biggest and quickest names in the sport.
Sunday’s event marks its first since being awarded AWMM status in November of last year, joining London, New York, Tokyo, Berlin, Boston and Chicago as part of the ‘greatest marathon series in the world’.
Having worked for three years to achieve their qualification, the organisers are confident that this weekend will prove to be an historic occasion for all involved.
Here is our guide to the big race.
Start time and how to watch live
The elite runners will depart Miller Street in North Sydney at 6:30am Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST), which is 9.30pm on the previous Saturday evening in the UK, 10:30pm in Central Europe, 4:30pm in New York, and 1:30pm for San Francisco.
There will then be three staggered starting groups for the remaining athletes at 6:31am, 7:03am and 7:41am AEST.
The elite wheelchair competitors will set off shortly before the elite athletes at 6:15am AEST.
Australian residents will be able to watch a free broadcast of the marathon on channels 7mate and 7plusSport, with uninterrupted coverage of the race starting at 6am AEST Sunday.
Overseas viewers can catch a live stream on the TCS Sydney Marathon YouTube channel or download the TCS Sydney Marathon app to track any runner in real-time.
The list of global broadcast partners includes: Eurosport (Asia, Europe, India); Shanghai TV (China); Fuji TV (Japan); ESPN/Disney+ (South America); Supersport (South Africa); Flosports (USA and Canada); NBC/MASN TV/ Fight Network/ CBS/ Fox TV/ MSG (USA) and Sky NZ (New Zealand).
The Sydney Marathon course
First used for the 2000 Olympic Games, the marathon route may have been adapted over the years, but it still takes in some of Sydney’s most beautiful and historic landmarks, including Sydney Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, the Sydney Cricket Ground, Centennial Park and, of course, the grand finish line at the Opera House.
Organisers say recent alterations to the route were designed to encourage faster times and a better running experience.
Men’s elite field – Records could be broken
Billed as ‘the most competitive men’s elite field ever assembled on Australian soil’ the list of runners boasts 15 athletes who hold personal bests which are equal to, or faster than, the current course record of 2:06:18
Headed up by the cream of African running talent, the all-star line-up includes Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, Vincent Ngatich and Edward Cheserek, as well as Ethiopians Dawit Wolde and Birhanu Legese.
Two-time Olympic champion Kipchoge – the only human in history to have completed a marathon in under two hours – will rightly start as favourite, however, Ngetich’s raw speed has seen him achieve two podium finishes in the last two Tokyo events, and he is seen as a serious contender.
Legese has also enjoyed marathon success in Tokyo, having won the race in both 2019 and 2020, while Wolde recently won the Xiamen Marathon and is regarded as Ethiopia’s top long-distance prospect.
TCS Sydney Marathon Race Director Wayne Larden said: “When you look at the depth of this year’s men’s field, it’s not just star-studded and fast, it’s exceptionally deep.
“We have multiple athletes capable of running under the course record, rising stars on the brink of global breakthrough, and of course, Eliud Kipchoge, the greatest marathoner of all time.”
Women’s elite field – Hassan faces Kosgei challenge
Two of the biggest names in women’s marathon are set to do battle on the streets of Sydney this weekend as Olympic Champion Sifan Hassan faces five-time Abbott World Marathon Major winner Brigid Kosgei.
In a heavyweight contest befitting the occasion of Sydney’s first AWMM event, Dutch star Hassan will be looking to add to her series wins in London and Chicago two years ago, while Kenyan Kosgei is no stranger to success having crossed the line first in London, Chicago twice, and Tokyo.
With personal best times of 2:13:44 (Hassan) and 2:14:04 (Kosgei) there are high hopes that Sunday’s race could deliver a new course record, which was set last year by Ethiopian Workenesh Edesa with a time of 2:21:41.
Edesa is one of a host of athletes in the field to have completed a sub-2:19 marathon, with the likes of Ashete Bekere, Meseret Belete and Tiruye Mesfin posing a threat to both Hassan and Kosgei.
