The Sydney Marathon has officially become part of the World Marathon Majors and is now the seventh race to join the global series.
The announcement was made during Sunday’s New York City Marathon and Sydney will be added to a list of cities hosting major marathons that includes Boston, Chicago, London, Berlin, Tokyo and New York.
Sydney is typically held in September and is the first major marathon in the series to be held in the southern hemisphere — in Austraila. The 2025 race will be Sydney’s debut as a member of the World Marathon Majors.
“We cannot wait to see our community embrace this race and start planning their visits to run the streets of one of the finest cities in the world,” Dawna Stone, the CEO of Abbott World Marathon Majors said.
Runners who compete in the series accrue “stars” once they finish each major and received an additional medal immediately at the completion of their final race. The design of the prize will now have to be revised to include Sydney even though the existing six star program will remain.
The World Marathon Majors series was founded in 2006 and has quickly become a high demand race experience for casual distance runners and professionals. All majors abided by a strict criteria to be considered in the series and Cape Town was rumored to be the next major.
In September, the Shanghai Marathon replaced the Chengdu Marathon as a candidate for a Chinese city since Chengdu had difficulty meeting the requirements of the application.
Meanwhile, the Sydney Marathon hosted just over 17,000 runners in September and finishes near the Sydney Opera House.
Morocco’s Othmane El Goumri won the men’s division 2:08:20, while Kenyan Betsy Saina crossed the finish line in 2:26:47.
The race is a net downhill course despite now having the most net elevation of the existing majors at 1,040 feet. Boston has 825 feet of net gain, while New York has 810.
The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, quickly praised the inclusion of Sydney, since the elevated status of the marathon will easily attract runners seeking another major — and provide an economic boost to the region.
“We’re thrilled Australia’s only global city, Sydney, is now a member of the world majors club, following the great marathon cities of Boston, Chicago, New York, Berlin, Tokyo and London,” NSW Premier Chris Minns said in a statement. “Achieving major marathon status is a huge honor and we are proud to be a funding and strategic partner of the Sydney Marathon.
World Marathon Majors has been vocal about its ambitious plans to add new members to majors series, with a possible goal of nine races on the roster.
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(Photo courtesy of the Sydney Marathon)
