Hassan and Kiros set course records as Sydney Marathon debuts in AWMM

Sifan Hassan and Hailemaryam Kiros won the women’s and men’s races and set course records as the Sydney Marathon staged its inaugural appearance in the Abbott World Marathon Majors on Sunday, with the event finishing beneath the sails of the Sydney Opera House. Hassan of the Netherlands took the women’s title in 2:18:22, an Australian all‑comers record, while Ethiopia’s Hailemaryam Kiros claimed the men’s race in 2:06:06, the fastest marathon ever run on Australian soil.

Hassan, the reigning Olympic marathon champion, pulled away in the final 7 to 10 kilometres after a fast start and held off Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei, who finished second in 2:18:56. “I pushed so hard, I was so dead the last 10 kilometres,” Hassan said after the race. “I started too hard, and I learned my lesson. This is the hardest race I’ve won without drama.” Workenesh Edesa, the defending champion, was third in 2:22:15.

In the men’s race a compact lead group stayed together through 30 kilometres before surges on Sydney’s rolling course split the field. Addisu Gobena briefly animated the race but Kiros reeled him in late and produced a decisive sprint down the finishing straight to win by about 10 seconds; Gobena...