Sydney: Sydney is abuzz with anticipation as it prepares to host its largest marathon field ever, with a record 25,000 runners set to tackle the 42-kilometer course through the city’s streets on Sunday. This event could mark a pivotal moment in marathon history, as the Sydney Marathon is vying to join the elite World Marathon Majors (WMM) series.
The Sydney Marathon aims to become the first new addition to the WMM roster since Tokyo joined in 2013. If it meets the assessment criteria for the second consecutive year, it will join the prestigious ranks of New York, London, Boston, Berlin, and Chicago.
“We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden shared during a press conference in Sydney on Thursday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All our plans look good on paper; I feel we’re ticking all the boxes. We just need to deliver the event as planned, and I’m confident we’ll meet the criteria.”
Larden, who has been race director since 2005, has overseen the marathon’s growth from 2,300 finishers to a staggering 25,000. “It’s taken me 18 years to build it to 5,000 and two years to get it to 25,000,” Larden told Reuters. “The trajectory has been very steep in the last two years since we became a candidate race, because there’s a lot of excitement about the World Majors being in Sydney.”
The new start location at North Sydney Oval, where the Olympic marathon began in 2000, and the larger field size present additional challenges for Larden and his team. Despite this, he remains optimistic. “I’m feeling confident, but it’s a big event, and anything can happen. I think we’re well prepared,” Larden said. “I’ll know on race day how we’ve done, based on our plans and how we’ve delivered them.”
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A Major Milestone for Sydney
The World Marathon Majors series, which began in 2006, introduced a candidacy program in 2017 to expand the series to a maximum of nine races. “It’s World Marathon Majors, and the word ‘world’ is in there, and we are not really worldwide, right?” WMM Chief Executive Dawna Stone told Reuters outside Sydney’s iconic Opera House.
Stone’s assessment team will be on the ground in Sydney on Sunday, with a decision on the race’s inclusion expected in October. “What better place to be than an iconic city like this that everybody wants to visit?” Stone added. “If everything goes according to plan, I am hopeful that they will become the next major.”
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The elite field is a key criterion for WMM. This year, 2022 world champion Gotytom Gebreslase will compete in the women’s race, while Ethiopian Leul Gebresilase, the bronze medallist from last year’s world championships, will race in the men’s. Defending women’s wheelchair champion Madison de Rozario, who recently won silver at the Paris Paralympics, will also compete. “I love the marathon, it’s my favorite event,” de Rozario said. “Doing two in a week is pretty brutal, but a lot of us love it, so I’m glad to be here.”
