Welcoming 2nu, the official sunglasses of the Gold Coast Marathon presented by ASICS
2nu joins the Gold Coast Marathon presented by ASICS as the official sunglasses.
A flat and fast course will provide the stage for the 39th Gold Coast Airport Marathon on Sunday 2 July with one of the strongest elite fields ever assembled to fight out the 42.195km race.
The Gold Coast Airport Marathon has attained an IAAF Road Race Gold Label for the fourth successive year, the highest certification a marathon can be awarded by the world governing body.
This year’s Gold Coast Airport Marathon will feature a stellar cast of elite runners and wheelchair athletes headlined by the return of four previous race winners – Kenneth Mungara (men 2015 & 2016), Yuki Kawauchi (men 2013), Risa Takenaka (women 2015) and Richard Nicholson (wheelchair men 2012 & 2013).
The countries of Kenya, Ethiopia, Japan, Eritrea, Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia have runners seeded in the top 10 for the marathon, while Australia holds a very strong hand in the wheelchair marathon.
Events Management Queensland CEO Cameron Hart said the quality of the elite fields is a testament to the event’s growing reputation amongst world marathons.
“I am delighted to announce the elite start list for this year’s Gold Coast Airport Marathon contains six previous winners and dozens more striving to add their name to the honour roll,” Mr Hart said.
“Last year, we witnessed a course record in the women’s race, an epic finish between Kenneth Mungara and Yuki Kawauchi in the men’s race and a record-setting win by Kurt Fearnley in the wheelchair marathon.
“This year, with the confirmation of the elite fields, we are sure to see another great renewal of the Gold Coast Airport Marathon with race records under threat once again.”
2013 Gold Coast Airport Marathon winner Yuki Kawauchi from Japan will return to the Gold Coast for the sixth consecutive time
Men’s Race
Top 10 Seeded Runners
Kenneth Mungara (Kenya)
Age: 43
PB: 2:07:36 – Prague, 2011
Yuki Kawauchi (Japan)
Age: 30
PB: 2:08:14 – Seoul, 2013
Jonah Chesum (Kenya)
Age: 28
PB: 2:08:57 – Barcelona, 2017
Tewelde Hidru (Eritrea)
Age: 26
PB: 2:09:16 – Frankfurt, 2015
Mathew Kipsaat (Kenya)
Age: 30
PB: 2:09:19 – Rome, 2017
Feyera Gemeda Dadi (Ethiopia)
Age: 33
PB: 2:09:42 – Dongying, 2016
Abraraw Misganaw Tegegne (Ethiopia)
Age: 28
PB: 2:09:47 – Ljubljana, 2016
Douglas Chebii (Kenya)
Age: 24
PB: 2:09:48 – Seville, 2017
Chiharu Takada (Japan)
Age: 36
PB: 2:10:03 – Fukuoka, 2014
Takuya Noguchi (Japan)
Age: 29
PB: 2:11:04 – Tokyo, 2017
Interesting Statistics
Women’s Race
Top 10 Seeded Runners
Abebech Afework Bekele (Ethiopia)
Age: 26
PB: 2:23:33 – Dubai, 2015
Letebrhan Haylay Gebreslasea (Ethiopia)
Age: 26
PB: 2:25:01 – Dongying, 2017
Mercy Kibarus (Kenya)
Age: 33
PB: 2:26:52 – Seoul, 2017
Meseret Kitata Tolwak (Ethiopia)
Age: 23
PB: 2:27:17 – Frankfurt, 2015
Leah Kiprono (Kenya)
Age: 37
PB: 2:27:39 – Zhengzhou, 2016
Risa Takenaka (Japan)
Age: 27
PB: 2:28:09 – Nagoya, 2015
Mary Davies (New Zealand)
Age: 34
PB: 2:28:56 – Toronto, 2012
Virginia Moloney (Australia)
Age: 27
PB: 2:34:27 – Melbourne, 2016
Elizeba Cherono (Netherlands)
Age: 29
PB: Debut marathon (1:10:10 half marathon – Breda, 2015)
Niluka Geethani Rajasekara (Sri Lanka)
Age: 35
PB: 2:40:07 – Hong Kong, 2015
Interesting Statistics
Key Points
Wheelchair Marathon
Two-time race winner and five-time Paralympian Richard Nicholson and four-time Paralympian Richard Colman will go head-to-head in this year’s men’s Gold Coast Airport Marathon wheelchair marathon race.
The women’s race will feature 19-year-old Sara Tait from the Gold Coast, taking on only her second full marathon after last year placing a gallant third behind winner Christie Dawes (2:20:15) and second placegetter Emily Tapp (2:04:06).
Tait primarily competes as a paratriathlete and is the current PT1 open world champion for both the triathlon and duathlon.
She harbours ambitions to better herself in the wheelchair marathon showcasing her potential with a win in the wheelchair 15km race in 2015 as a 17-year-old in 47:22.
19-year-old Sara Tait from the Gold Coast is aiming for another podium finish in the Wheelchair Marathon on Sunday 2 July
The Queensland Government is proud to support the 2017 Gold Coast Airport Marathon through Tourism and Events Queensland as part of the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar.
The 39th annual Gold Coast Airport Marathon will be held on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 July.
Set to attract more than 27,000 participants of all ages and abilities, this year’s race program will feature the Gold Coast Airport Marathon over 42.195km, Wheelchair Marathon, ASICS Half Marathon, Wheelchair 15km, Southern Cross University 10km Run, The Star Gold Coast 5.7km Challenge, Zespri 4km Junior Dash and Zespri 2km Junior Dash.
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