At 4:30 AM Beijing time on August 30, the first World Marathon Majors race of the second half of the year — the Sydney Marathon — fired the starting gun.This edition drew over 123,000 entries, with 40,000 runners ultimately lining up at the start.
The course has approximately 313 m of cumulative ascent — not a fast route — with runners setting off from Miller Street in North Sydney, running across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and finishing in front of the Sydney Opera House.
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Race highlights
The men's elite field features as many as 14 athletes under 2:05.Ethiopia's Sisay Lemma (PB 2:01:48) leads the field, alongside 2025 Budapest World Championships champion Alphonce Simbu.
Defending champion Hailemaryam Kiros set the Sydney course record of 2:06:06 last year and will be fighting to defend his crown this year.
Can Addisu Gobena, a former Ethiopian javelin thrower and last year's Sydney runner-up, succeed in getting his revenge?
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The women's elite field is led byKenya's Olympic champion (Tokyo 2020) Peres Jepchirchir (Peres Jepchirchir).She has a PB of 2:14:43; this is her first official race since the Valencia Marathon in December last year.
Chinese marathon athletesFang Boappears in Sydney as a specially invited elite,Wu Haoranwill also compete."Wa Ge" Zhong Hanliangwill take on the Sydney Marathon. The 51‑year‑old ran under 2 hours (1:49:12) at the Chengdu World Heritage Half Marathon this March.
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Race start
0-10km
at the 5 km mark,The men's lead group was large in number, recording a time of 14:30, with an average pace of 2:54 per kilometer.
The women's leader was the 46-year-old KenyanPriscah Cherono(Priscah Cherono) set off and led solo.
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However, at the first feed station there was a minor incident: Priscah Cheronograbbed the wrong feed.
At 10 km,Priscah Cherono the time was 31:37, 23 seconds ahead of the women's second group; at that point she was running together with Fang Bo.
10-20km
The men's lead group numbered nearly 20, 30 seconds ahead of the race record; everyone tacitly chose a conservative strategy—after the 20 km split, would anyone break the balance?
Priscah CheronoAt 20 km the time was 1:04:28,Fang Bo closely followed.The women's second-place runner wasPeres Jepchirchir, 25 seconds behind.
20-30km
After 20 km, Xiamen Marathon two-time champion Dawit Wolde (Dawit Wolde) surged out of the lead group trying to open a gap, but was quickly caught.
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After the half marathon, the men's lead group time was 1:02:28;Priscah Cherono with a time of1:07:58, one minute ahead of the race record.
After a long time in front and the climbs from 25–28 km,Priscah Cherono wasPeres JepchirchirandIrine Cheptai overtook.
30-40km
After 30 km,Priscah Cherono after closely following for 2 km was unable to reclaim the position,Peres Jepchirchir andIrine Cheptai ran neck-and-neck.
With just 6 km to go,2003-born Ethiopian Chimdessa Debele began to surge, and the race intensified.
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At 40 km, 2004-born youngster Addisu Gobena broke free, ahead of the course record by 52 seconds; behind him wasChimdessa Debele。
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the finish line
Addisu Gobena was the first to cross the finish line in front of the Sydney Opera House,in 2:04:42, not only avenged himself but also lowered the Sydney Marathon course record by 1 minute 24 seconds; the men's runner-upChimdessa Debele, in 2:04:46; the men's third-placeTebello Ramakongoana, in 2:04:57.
Chinese runnersWu Haoran 2:18:17,Fang Bo completed the race in 2:21:51.
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Peres Jepchirchir won the women's title, with a time of2:18:31, just 9 seconds short of breaking the women's course record，Irine Cheptai finished second in the women's race in 2:22:11, and Shure Demise Ware was third in 2:22:33.
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#Were the men's and women's champions the same as you predicted?#
Text/Editor: MP
Image source: sydney_marathon
Visual: Max
