Japanese speedster Yuta Shitara smashed the Gold Coast Marathon record, taking out the IAAF Gold Label race in an amazing 2:07:50. He lowered the previous mark of Kenyan Kenneth Mungara (2:08:42), set in 2015.

Across the weekend there was an avalanche of incredible performances – from the grassroots to the elite.

Kenyan Rodah Jepkorir (KEN) held off a strong finishing burst from Tasmanian Milly Clark (AUS/TAS) to take out the women’s Gold Coast Marathon.

The 27-year-old broke away from the 30km mark and then lasted to break the tape in 2:27:56, with Clark second (2:28:08) and Eritrea’s Nazret Weldu (ERI) third in 2:28:57.

Sunday’s races started spectacularly from an Australian perspective with Melbourne’s Jack Rayner revelling in the rain, kicking clear in the later stages to win the ASICS Half Marathon in 1:02:30 ahead of Japan’s Yuki Sato and Yuma Hattori.

The 23-year-old crossed the line in 1:02:30, bettering his winning time from last year (1:03:12), but outside his personal best of 1:01:01 set in Cardiff in October.

After being runner-up last year, Sinead Diver went one better this year to claim her first ASICS Half Marathon in 1:09:46, the fifth fastest performance in the history of the race.

These results have continued a great year for Rayner and Diver, both having recorded 2020 Olympic marathon qualifying times and also securing a $6,000 each winner’s purse for their efforts.

In the Wheelchair Marathon, Australian Paralympians Bill Chaffey and Madison de Rozario were back on the Gold Coast and mining more gold.

ACT runner Leanne Pompeani won her second Southern Cross University 10km Run and setting a new PB of 33:00, becoming only the second woman to win the race more than once in the event’s history.

In an enthralling men’s race, 800m and 1500m track specialist Lachlan Barber (AUS/VIC) put in a withering finish burst to claim his first Southern Cross University 10km Run.

Barber clocked 29:58 in his first attempt at the 10km distance surging clear of Tim Vincent (AUS/QLD) over the final 400m to win by five seconds. Liam Boudin (AUS/QLD) was third in 30:18.

Brisbane 14-year-old Flynn Pumpa shrugged off difficult conditions to just fall short of a record result in the 2019 Garmin 4km Junior Dash. The win was Flynn’s second in the event, taking the honours last year in 12:54, making him only the second male runner to have recorded multiple wins in the Garmin 4km Junior Dash.

Gold Coaster Sayla Donnelley was the first female home in the 2019 Garmin 4km Junior Dash, recording a time of 14:07.

Brisbane nine-year-old Aden Kelly continued to set the running world alight with a sizzling win in the Garmin 2km Junior Dash.

Kelly caught the attention of the running world when he recorded a time of 38:57, to smash the previous 10,000m record for his age group by 91 seconds. The youngster only took up running 17 months before the race.

It may have rained on the Gold Coast Marathon’s 41st parade, but the conditions failed to halt a flood of inspirational performances, a race record and an exciting emerging Aussie Olympic campaign.

The eight Gold Coast Marathon races attracted a total of 26,287 entries, including 3,678 overseas competitors, as the event continues to achieve a long-term upward trend.

View the 2019 results. 

After a three-year COVID enforced hiatus the Village Road Show Theme Parks Gold Coast Marathon returned with a vengeance in 2022. A happy 20,000 participants from all over Australia with a few international runners in the mix took to the course in crisp and clear conditions, ideal for a day of running.

Whilst the international entries were down on previous years with border closures still impacting travel it wasn’t enough to stop elite international athletes from Japan and America taking out line honours in the 42.195km marathon.

Hailing from Colorado USA, first time Gold Coast visitor, Lindsay Flanagan clocked up a women’s Gold Coast race record in a winning time of 2:24:43 with Australian Olympian and well-known marathon runner Lisa Weightman powering home to take second place in a time of 2:25:55, ahead of Japan’s Shiho Kaneshige who claimed third spot on the podium in 2:29:12.

Japan’s Jo Fukuda blitzed the men’s field to take out line honours in a time of 2:10:55. The bright blue-haired Fukuda who dyed his hair the colour of the ocean for the occasion was closely followed by fellow countryman, Akihiro Kaneko [2:14:25] with Belgium’s Amaury Paquet claiming third place in a time of 2:15:45.

Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games wheelchair medallists Jake Lappin [1:37:32] and Madison de Rozario [1:46:58] returned to the holiday capital to take top honours in the 2022 CPL Wheelchair Marathon, de Rozario’s third victory in the event.

Strong fields in the ASICS Half Marathon saw Tokyo 2020 marathoner and Australian National Record-holder Brett Robinson [1:03:14] take line honours with five-time Aussie Commonwealth Games team member Eloise Wellings just edging out fellow teammate, Jessica Stenson to hit the finishers tape in first place to take the women’s race in 1:10:53.

The Southern Cross University 10km run saw ACT’s Leanne Pompeani [32:21] take to the top step on the podium in her third victory on the Gold Coast with first timer to the event South Australia’s Isaac Heyne victorious in the men’s race in a time of 29:03.

The weekend’s program of racing also featured the Health and Wellbeing Queensland 2km and 4km Junior Dashes and the Gold Coast Airport 5km Fun Run. A new record was set in the 4km event with a flying young Caiden McFarlane finally taking Riley Cocks’ 12-year-old record of 12:29 by posting the new best mark of 12:17.

This year’s updates included:
> Updating the race program to run the Half Marathon Event on Saturday and 10km Event on Sunday
> Changing the Wheelchair 15km race to a Wheelchair 10km race, so all entrants could have a race precinct finish with Samuel Rizzo [23:59] & Mikaela Dingley [34:24] taking out first place
> Introducing prize money to the 5KM race with Harvey Cramb [15:19] & Holly Campbell [15:50] being added to the GCM History with the first official race records.
> The 63.3km Challenge was introduced to the physical event and completed by 147 runners

2022 Results

The 2023 Gold Coast Marathon powered by Chery was a big bounce back to pre-COVID times with multiple race records toppled, excited crowds lining the streets and a major event energy and atmosphere like the Gold Coast had not seen in years.

The first weekend in July sprung to life with crisp cool conditions to welcome more than 24,300 runners from 51 countries and every state and territory in Australia.

Renowned for its fast and flat course where more than 61% of runners achieve a personal best time, the Gold Coast Marathon powered by Chery and its suite of eight events didn’t disappoint starting with the sell out of the 42.195km marathon with 6722 runners facing the starter’s gun.

Japan’s Naoki Koyama defeated a class field to take the 2023 men’s marathon spoils and set a new course record. His 2:07:40 eclipsed the 2:07:50 race record set in 2019 by compatriot Yuta Shitara and was the last of four outright course records reset across the weekend events.

Kenyan Ezekiel Omullo (2:08:26) and Victoria’s Liam Adams – the popular ‘tradie’ runner, took the minor placings with Adam’s running the fastest marathon ever by an Australian-on-Australian soil in 2:08:39 eclipsing Rob de Castella’s 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games winning time of 2:09:18.

Returning to the Gold Coast to race after a few years, Kenyans Rodah Tanui (2:27:10) and Ruth Chebitok (2:28:17) went one-two in the women’s race ahead of Queensland Olympic track star and marathon debutant Genevieve Gregson who ran a 2:28:33.

Elated with a podium finish Gold Coast born and bred Gregson suggested the experience had almost taken over her first experience competing in the Olympic Games in 2012.

It was a Japan double in the CPL Wheelchair Marathon with Kota Hokinoue and Tsubasa Kina taking out the men’s and women’s races. First timers to the Gold Coast Hokinoue conceded the course was fast but tougher than he’d anticipated with Kina lapping up the great crowd support and vowing to return in 2024.

American runner Keira D’Amato obliterated the ASICS Half Marathon women’s race record and set a new USA mark for the distance for good measure on the Gold Coast this morning.

Her time of 1:06:39 spectacularly consigned Australian Lisa Weightman’s 13-year-old Gold Coast half marathon record mark of 1:09:00 to the history books whilst shattering the USA half marathon record by 13 seconds.

D’Amato, fueled by a cry from the crowd at the 19km mark telling her she was “dangerously close to the record” finished two and a half minutes ahead of Canberran Leanne Pompeani (1:09:07) and Australian Tokyo 2020 Olympian Ellie Pashley (1:09:25). D’Amato admitted being overwhelmed by the crowds lining the streets and cheering her on to the finish line.

With a record breaking roll up of 10,388 runners in the ASICS half marathon men’s race favourite Brett Robinson took the spoils for the second year in a row crossing the line in 1:02:16 after a fierce battle with Japan’s Keijiro Mogi who finished just four seconds behind him. New Zealand’s surprise packet Cameron Avery claimed the third place on the podium 34 seconds astern in 1:02:50.

Despite a few challenges with his chair before the race, 10km CPL wheelchair race winner, Nathenial Arkley was thrilled to take out the win in the men’s race with Canberra’s Emily Tapp taking line honours and a race record (31:41) in her first ever 10km wheelchair race.

And whilst her half marathon long-standing record was finally broken this year, Australia’s Lisa Weightman set about lowering her ‘other’ record – the 11-year-old Southern Cross University 10km run recording a scintillating 32:09 that eclipsed her 2012 time of 32:17.

A great preparation for the World Athletics Championships in Budapest later in 2023 Weightman finished ahead of fellow Aussies, Sinead Noon and Hannah Anderson.

And in an all-Aussie podium finish in the men’s race as well, Victoria’s Dale Carroll pipped Toby Gilen in a hard-fought battle with 2022 winner, Liam Cashin happy to take third place after struggling to get his rhythm.

Harrison Martinenko and Olga Firsova well and truly wrote their names into the Gold Coast Airport 5km Fun Run record books in 2023. Martinenko’s 14:32 not only bettered the event’s previous mark of 15:19, but his run also consigned the reigning champion and former record holder Harvey Cramb to second place with Seth Mahoney coming in third.

Forty-year-old Firsova’s 15:42 beat Holly Campbell’s 2022 race record of 15:50 and pushed pre-race favourite Georgia Winkcup into second place by over a quarter of a minute.

And not to be outdone by the more senior athletes the Health and Wellbeing Queensland’s 4km Junior Dash winner Luke Gorski put daylight between himself and the rest of the field with Finn Watt and Conor Matthewson taking out second and third placings respectively. Elke Rayward was the first girl to hit the tape in the 4km female race ahead of Grace Campbell and Savannah Bush.

Young speedsters Judah Magarey and Victoria Huang triumphed in the boys and girls 2km Health and Wellbeing Queensland Junior Dash.

2023 Results