Over 400 Singaporeans took to the streets of Sydney in the Sydney Marathon's biggest edition yet
It was the biggest ever TCS Sydney Marathon Presented by ASICS, and a record number of Singaporeans were part of over 24,000 runners who flagged off at Miller Street in North Sydney.
The city was in its final year as a candidate race to become an Abbot World Marathon Major, and will soon find out the results before the year's end. With the electrifying atmosphere that engulfed the capital of New South Wales on the morning of 15th September though, it's hard to imagine anything but a positive result.
Despite its infamous elevations, tens of thousands of runners pound the streets each year. This time, plenty of records were broken. For one, men's elite winner, Brimin Kipkorir Misoi set a new Sydney Marathon Race Record of 2:06:18 - 45 seconds under the previous mark of 2:07:03 set by Moses Kibet in 2022. On the other end of the spectrum, 90-year-old Koichi Kitabatake from Japan, became the oldest participant to ever complete a marathon in Australia.
Singapore saw its biggest number of Sydney Marathon participants ever, with a whopping 412 runners hitting the streets of Sydney. Want to relive the madness? Here are some highlights, told in pictures.
Over the last eight months, Sportplus.sg featured one Sydney Marathon-bound runner per month as part of the 'Sydney Marathon Stories' series. Gavin Tan was our first, all the way back in February.
The 45-year-old had overcome a recurring spinal injury, and conquered his first overseas race on Sunday at the Sydney Marathon.
It had been sunny all week, but Sydney had other plans on race day. With temperatures as low as 10 degrees at 5am, wind chills turned participants to ice as they gathered in their starting pens.
Jackets were shed and blankets thrown off as thousands flagged off at Miller Street.
Armed with quirky signs and loudhailers, the stars by the start line were none other than the spectators.
"You WANTED this!"
"You! You look hot in those shorts!"
"Run FASTER, you got this*name on bib*!"
One of the best parts of the marathon is seeing some of the costumes people are willing to run in for four to seven hours. Will they commit? Will it come off after 5km? It's all a highly-anticipated affair. Here's part one.
We're proud to announce that we saw this man cross the finish line in his dinosaur suit. What a guy, the commitment is off the roof.
Part two — It's a Brazilian runner in a kangaroo suit. Need we say more? She even gained the attention of officials, as the emcee at the finish line anticipated her return.
"We are currently waiting for a Brazilian woman in a kangaroo suit to come home, and we hear she should be coming in very soon," he announced to the crowd on the steps of the Sydney Opera House several times.
And then there she was, in all her glory. The crowd then gave her the chorus of cheers she deserved.
Terry and Amy Seow are both well loved members of the Singaporean running community and were our third feature in our Sydney Marathon Stories series. In the feature, Amy tells of how Terry takes pictures at every kilometre board. He's almost always seen recording his runs with his wife, capturing every memory together.
He's so good at it, that he spotted us by the barricades before we could even spot them, and came over for a casual mid-marathon selfie. The two completed the marathon hand-in-hand with a time of 6:19.
The route may be infamous for its hills and elevation, but the city makes up for it with its iconic landmarks. Here, runners pounded on George Street, by Darling Harbour with the Sydney Harbour Bridge now behind them.
Closed to traffic only twice a year, once for New Year's Eve and once for the Sydney Marathon, the Sydney Harbour Bridge is one of the highlights of the route.
Several Singaporeans were spotted along George Street, with Helmi Mohammed being one of them. His excitement, which radiated from him, bounced off of the other runners as many others too spotted cameras and their loved ones lined along the route.
With over 25km to go at this point and almost 15km done, the energy was palpable.
Nothing gets you running more than the steady, electrifying and heart-pumping beat sound of drums beating. This band of percussionists had stationed themselves near the 15km point bright and early to cheer strangers on.
The groove of the drums had not only pushed the runners to press on, but also brought business owners along the route out to cheer as well, and if that doesn't encapsulate the love a marathon can emanate, we're not sure what does.
The day before the race, many who walked along the harbour pictured just how beautiful the finish line would be.
24 hours later, they crossed it.
Emotions ran high at the finish line, as thousands upon thousands of people were welcomed home after a gruelling 42.195km to cheers from the crowd at the Sydney Opera House.
Runners were of all walks of life and none thought they could do it at some point in their lives. Running for four to seven hours? "That's crazy."
But they did it and they helped each other out along the way, no matter their age, nationality or gender.
What's another 42.195km when you've done 1000km from Thailand to Singapore in 12 days? Natalie Dau set a Guiness World Record in June for the fastest crossing of the Malaysian Peninsula on foot, and on Sunday, achieved a new marathon personal best by a whopping six minutes.
The ultramarathoner completed the Sydney Marathon in the World Age Group Championships category with a timing of 3:23.
Whether it's at the start or end of a whole marathon, at the end of HYROX Singapore, or in any gruelling race or competition, Melissa Foo is almost always all smiles.
Melissa crossed the finish line in 4 hours 17 minutes, and now shifts her focus to the Berlin Marathon in two weeks.
Having suffered a torn ligament in her ankle only a week before the Sydney Marathon, Cheryl Tay was on the fence about whether to take to the course on Sunday morning.
She decided the night before to walk the entire 42.195km and aimed to do it under the cut off time of seven hours. Driven by pure grit and determination, Cheryl held on to the 6:40 hour pace group she found at the 5km mark and together, they made it to the finish line in what was her "hardest earned medal."
As if emotions weren't already high at the finish line, tears were shed as the Sydney Marathon began welcoming back some of its final runners on the course after seven hours.
It didn't matter if you were an official, media, specator or a runner who had already finished. Seeing the pure the determination of these runners, and the love and support thousands of strangers had for them was a magical moment.
The DJ knew what he was doing by playing Mr Brightside by The Killers.
For more pictures, visit our gallery here.
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