A record that dates back to 1896 has now been broken for the world’s longest running event, with the New Zealand World Marathon Association (NZWMA) claiming the distance of a 7:03:52, just one minute and 36 seconds slower than the world record of 7:05:57 set by Usain Bolt in Rio de Janeiro.
The marathoners who set the new world record were all from New Zealand, with a record-breaking run of the event breaking a long-standing record of 1:07:53 set by American Olympic swimmer Rebecca Miller in 2011.
The men’s race was held in Auckland, New Zealand.
It had previously been held in Christchurch, New South Wales, and Wellington, Wellington.
The NZWMA has announced the new record will be published on the website of the race on Monday, January 18, at 9am AEST.
The event was held for the third year running, and is now the world marathon champion, with 8,973 athletes competing.
In 2016, New Zealander Adam Haldane set the New Zealand’s first world record for a distance of 7 hours, 26 minutes and 16 seconds.
He was one of the men’s runners who broke the world records of the time, and took home the overall silver medal.
In 2017, American Samir Bishara set the world cross country record for the event, running a 5:52:43, beating his own time of 5:51:18.
It was also the year of the 100 metre butterfly, which saw the likes of Canadian Andrew Haines and American Justin Gatlin both run for gold.
The 2016 event saw the world number one swimmer, world number three gymnast, and world number four marathon runner, Michael Phelps, win the race.
He became the first man to win a gold medal at the event in 40 years.
The women’s race saw a record number of women run, with 13 of the runners coming from New York.
The race took place at a time when the United States is not allowed to be a runner at the Olympics, as a punishment from the IOC.
This year, the US is expected to hold its first marathon in 2021.
New Zealanders Adam Hldane, left, and Samir Bahadur were runners up at the race last year. Photo: AP Newly crowned world record holder, former Olympic gold medallist, and current NZWSA president and CEO Mike Bevan was one man who took part in the event.
He said he was “excited to finally be able to share the glory with all the runners in the race and see them come together to win.”
“As I have said many times, we are a small country that’s been blessed with a very strong and dedicated community of runners,” Mr Bevan said.
“I’m thrilled that the marathon is now officially an Olympic event, and I know many Kiwis and New Zealanders are very excited to experience the excitement of the world class runners.”
Auckland City Council and the city of Auckland have been working hard to attract new runners, and the race has been attended by many people, including former New Zealand Olympic athletes, and members of the New York City community.
As the event came to a close last year, many New Zealand runners and fans were looking forward to the next race, the 10km marathon.
More to come.