(Bloomberg) — About 35,000 competitors took part in the Sydney Marathon on Sunday, a record number of runners after the event became part of a series that includes landmark races such as those in London and New York.
The 42.2 kilometer (26.2 mile) course crossed the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and looped through downtown and Centennial Park before ending at the famous Opera House steps. Ethiopian Hailemaryam Kiros Kebedew took the victory in the men’s race and Sifan Hassan in the women’s field.
The lineup of elite marathon athletes included Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, the first person to run the distance in less than two hours, and was billed as the strongest in Sydney since the city hosted the Olympics in 2000. Marcel Hug and Susannah Scaroni were first in the men’s and women’s wheelchair contests respectively.
Sunday’s event was the first as part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors running series, which also includes Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York. The Sydney Marathon has increased in popularity in recent years, from about 5,000 entries in 2022 to 25,000 last year, according to the New South Wales state government.
Some estimates project an additional A$73 million ($48 million) in visitor spending in New South Wales in the coming three years following Sydney’s elevation to the Majors. The New York City marathon was worth about $427 million to its economy in 2019, the last available data, according to research commissioned by its organizer.
The sports tourism market, which includes people traveling to watch or participate in events, is expected to be worth more than $1.7 trillion by 2032 — up from $609 billion in 2023 — according to a World Economic Forum report.
–With assistance from Ainslie Chandler.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Sydney Marathon, record number of runners, iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge, elite marathon athletes, Abbott World Marathon Majors
#Sydney #Marathon #Draws #Record #Runners #Status #Upgrade