Athletics Australia – News – Australian Marathon Champions crowned

Alexander Matthews of New South Wales and Sharon Ryder of Queensland have won the men’s and women’s Australian Marathon Championship titles respectively after their efforts in the 2013 Blackmores Sydney Marathon on Sunday.
 
Staged as part of the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival, the Sydney Marathon also doubled as the national championship for 2013.
 
Kenyan Willy Koitile powered home to win the men’s Marathon in two hours, 13 minutes 48 seconds (2:13:48) as more than 34,000 people ran and walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to finish lines at the Opera House and Conservatorium of Music.
 
In winning his second career marathon title, Koitile beat home El Hassane Ben Lkhainouch of France  (2:14.28), with South African Lucky Mohale snaring third in 2:15.58.
 
Turramurra’s Alexander Matthews (2:25.32, eighth overall) was the first Australian home to claim the men’s national title.
 
Koitile was simply too strong for his rivals in the closing stages, putting 30 seconds on Ben Lkhainouch and almost a minute on Mohale between the 35 and 40km marks after there had been seven runners in the lead pack at the halfway point.  The victory was the second of Koitile’s career after his breakthrough performance to claim the 2011 Shanghai Marathon, a title he will try to reclaim later this year.
 
The 27-year-old from the western Kenyan town of Eldoret said he enjoyed the picturesque route around.
 
“The course is beautiful, very fast but it was humid today,” Koitile said.
 
“When I came from Kenya I was so very comfortable to be able to come and win this race.”
 
Koitile also declared he would return to the Blackmores Sydney Marathon in 2014 and attempt to break the race record.
 
“This race was really part of my preparation because I want to be able to come back next year to be able to remove the course record," said Koitile.
 
The women’s event was won by Ethiopian Biruktait Degefa who clocked a sizzling 2:32.46 to slash almost six minutes from the race record of 2:38.11 set in 2001 by Australian Krishna Stanton.
 
Degefa’s compatriot Workitu Ayanu Gurma posted a time of 2:33.20 – also well under the former race record – with Kenya’s Irene Mogaka third in 2:38.20.
 
Degefa said she was delighted with both the victory and her time.
 
“I am very happy, I knew what the time was for the record and I wanted to be extra fast to get it,” Degefa “I will be back next year to run faster.”
 
Illustrating the incredibly strong standard of this year’s women’s field, defending champion Mitsuko Hirose could only manage fifth.
 
Currumbin Waters’ athlete Sharon Ryder (3:01.43, sixth woman overall) was the first Australian across the line to take the women’s national crown.
 
Wheelchair racing great Kurt Fearnley won his ninth Blackmores Sydney Running Festival title and fifth straight marathon crown.
 
The Australian Paralympic star recorded a time of 1:39.15 as he finished ahead of fellow Australians Nathan Arkley (1:51.30) and Richard Nicholson (1:54.35), while five-time Paralympian Christie Dawes finished in a time of 2:01.23, crossing the line as the fourth wheelchair marathon athlete.
 
Fearnley, who said he was inspired by the upset victory of Melbourne by his beloved Newcastle Knights in Saturday night’s NRL elimination final, revealed he would return to the event in 2014 in a bid to claim at tenth.
 
“I’m still buzzing from last night. I was driving back and I had to listen to it on the radio. I was with some family out near Bathurst and listening to it on the radio the whole way I was screaming in my car. They’re a good bunch of guys and they’re going to fight bloody hard next week too," said Fearnley.
 
“Today, it’s all about getting out here and enjoying this marathon and the Blackmores Running Festival.
 
“This is about the only marathon I’ve done in Australia in the whole time. It’s the first marathon I ever did back in 2000 and it’ll be the last one I do in hopefully twenty years from now. I’ll be back next year and the year after and the year after and the year after. This is home."

PHOTO GALLERY
 
Click here to read a full event recap from the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival.