The Sydney Marathon is not going unnoticed as it approaches its first year as an Abbott World Marathon Major (AWMM). Eager to stage some of the finest elite performances, the race organisers have announced today (Wednesday 25 June) that Sifan Hassan, a six-time Olympic medallist in every distance from the 1500m to the marathon, will be among the athletes competing to win the 2025 race.
A supremely versatile runner who is the reigning Olympic marathon champion, Hassan was as bemused as the rest of us when she set the women’s Olympic record on the tough 26.2-mile course at the 2024 Games in Paris, having scored bronze medals in the 5000m and 10,000m just days earlier. That aside, the Dutch star is also a two-time AWMM champion, with 2023 seeing her win both the London Marathon – her debut at the distance – and the Chicago Marathon. The latter race is where she set her marathon PB of 2:13:44, which makes her the third-fastest female marathoner of all time.
Now, having placed third at the 2025 London Marathon in April, she’ll no doubt be targeting the Sydney Marathon’s women’s course record of 2:21:41, set by Ethipia’s Workenesh Edesa Gurmesa in 2024.
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Joining Hassan in the elite field this year will be Kenyan marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge, who by now needs no introduction and whose participation in the 2025 Sydney Marathon was revealed in March.
‘From her extraordinary range on the track to her dominance on the roads, Sifan Hassan is a true global icon,’ says Wayne Larden, Sydney Marathon race director. ‘Having an athlete of her calibre compete in Sydney is a dream for our event and for Australian fans. It will be thrilling to see her take on the streets of Sydney.’
The 2025 edition of the Sydney Marathon, which was officially announced as the seventh AWMM race and the first in Oceania, last November, will take place on Sunday 31 August. It has received a huge injection of interest since it was inducted into the AWMM circle, with a record 35,000 participants expected to toe Sydney’s start line this summer (well, technically winter in Australia). Among the tens of thousands of runners from over 100 countries worldwide will be first-time marathoners, Seven Star Finisher hopefuls and, as we now know, some of the greatest marathon runners on earth.
‘Running has given me so much – not just as an athlete, but as a person,’ says Hassan. ‘It has been a way to connect with people, to tell my story and to show that no matter where you come from, you can achieve something meaningful. I’m honoured to bring that message to Sydney and to be part of an event that celebrates strength, community and possibility.’
Held in the vibrant heart of the capital of New South Wales, the Sydney Marathon boasts the greatest elevation gain of all AWMM races (1,040 feet), although it is still net-downhill. The race is as stunning as it is undulating, with a show-off course that starts on the city’s North Shore, crosses the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and finishes at the dramatic foot of the Sydney Opera House, beside the beautiful Royal Botanic Garden.
It’s also a good race for early birds, with the elite runners – including Hassan and Kipchoge – due to set off at 6:15am local time.
