Records broken in historic Sydney Marathon wins

Hailemaryam Kiros has won the men's race in the Sydney Marathon.

The Ethiopian was part of the lead pack and broke away late on, holding off a challenge from Addisu Gobena.

He ran the race in 2:06:06, the fastest time in any marathon in Australia by over a minute.

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Tebello Ramakongoana from Lesotho finished third, while world-class runner and race favourite Eliud Kipchoge dropped off the leading pack with about eight kilometres to go, and is expected to finish in eighth place.

In the women's race, Sifan Hassan set a new record in her first-ever appearance at the Sydney Marathon.

With a time of 2:18:20, she became the first woman in an Australian marathon to run it in two hours and 20 minutes.

Brigid Kosgei also broke that barrier as she finished in second place.

An estimated 35,000 people are competing today, which is the first Sydney Marathon with world marathon major status, meaning it is one of the seven biggest marathons in the world.

The 42-kilometre course began in North Sydney and ends at the Sydney Opera House.

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The event began at about 6.20am with the wheelchair race, whilst the elite runners started just after 6.30am.

The main Aussies in the men's race are Brett Robinson, Tom de Canto and Sam Clifford, whilst in the women's race, Leanne Pompeani, Jessica Stenson and Lisa Weightman will be hopeful of strong finishes.

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