By Banjo Tucker and Ted Schief
Ethiopian long distance runner Addisu Gobena has crossed the finish line in record time to win Sydney’s second world marathon major on Sunday.
The former javelin thrower, and last year’s runner-up, beat more than 40,000 competitors, finishing with a time of 2:04:42 and breaking the race record by more than a minute and a half.
Kenya’s world champion Peres Jepchirchir was the fastest woman, claiming her 4th Abbott Major title, as she crossed the line with a time of 2:18:31, just short of last year’s course record set by Sifan Hassan.
Andy Buchanan was the fastest Australian across the line, clocking 2:10:14, followed by Brisbane’s Tim Vincent who, despite needing a bathroom stop, finished with an impressive time of 2:13.54.
Ellie Pashley was the fastest Australian woman in a time of 2:28:27.
Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir just missed beating the record in the women’s category. Photo: Ted Schief
Kenyan fans celebrating on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. Photo: Banjo Tucker
And, behind the professionals, thousands of regular runners were trying to achieve their own goals.
Scott Tindal, co-founder of nutrition company Fuelin, said he had come agonisingly close to breaking the sub-three-hour mark.
“Just missed out by a few seconds, so a little disappointing but still a great race,” he told Central News, adding that he had run the marathon for the past four years and rated it one of the most breathtaking in the world.
Campbell Ross, a senior portfolio analyst at Ophir Asset Management, said grit and determination had got him through a challenging race.
“It was a tough day for me, unfortunately not my best,” he said. “My legs gave out at about 29km and it was still a long way to go when that happened, but I didn’t stop, I didn’t stop”.
An exhausted runner leans on the barrier after a gruelling race. Photo: Ted Schief
Gobena’s victory marked the 21-year-old’s first Abbott World Marathon Major title. Speaking after the race, he put his achievement down to learning from last year’s experience.
“I am very happy. Last year I came second, I learned from my mistake, and I went back home and I worked on my mistake to perform and break the record today,” he told the media.
Australian Women’s champion Ellie Pashley thanked the home crowd for pushing her on to the win.
“It was hard through the middle, but I really loved it,” she said. “I just tried to enjoy it as much as I could, because the crowd was insane, even the runners who were running the marathon were yelling, cheering for us.”
Building on the success of last year’s Sydney Marathon major, applications increased by 56 per cent to a staggering 123,000 entries, that included runners from 162 countries around the world. About a third were accepted to compete.
And after Sydney’s record breaking first two years as a major, the Abbott board is keen to expand further. Cape Town is set to become the newest member of the world major roster, debuting next year to become the 8th annual race, while Shanghai is also rumoured to be joining the calendar soon.
Main photo by Ted Schief.
