Morrocan Othmane El Goumri Wins Sydney Marathon; Betsy Saina Claims Tight Women’s Race

Marathon participants run through The Rocks during the 2023 Sydney Marathon in Sydney, Australia, 17 September 2023. (EPA)
Marathon participants run through The Rocks during the 2023 Sydney Marathon in Sydney, Australia, 17 September 2023. (EPA)
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Morrocan Othmane El Goumri Wins Sydney Marathon; Betsy Saina Claims Tight Women’s Race

Marathon participants run through The Rocks during the 2023 Sydney Marathon in Sydney, Australia, 17 September 2023. (EPA)
Marathon participants run through The Rocks during the 2023 Sydney Marathon in Sydney, Australia, 17 September 2023. (EPA)

Moroccan Othmane El Goumri and Kenyan-born American Betsy Saina have won the men's and women's races at an unseasonably warm Sydney Marathon on Sunday.

The 31-year-old El Goumri finished the hilly 42m kilometer (26-mile) course around prominent Sydney landmarks in 2:08:20 to win his first marathon title since winning the Dublin Marathon in 2019.

Kenya's Laban Kipngetich Korir was second in a time of 2:08:43, with Ethiopian Getaneh Molla Tamire a further minute and a half behind in third.

Saina, who attended Iowa State University and now represents the United States, finished in 2:26:47 and held off a late challenge from Ethiopian Rahma Tusa Chota to win the women's race by six seconds. Gladys Chesir Kiptagelai of Kenya was third in a time of 2:28:41.

Canada's Joshua Cassidy won the men's wheelchair event, with Australia's Madison de Rozario winning the women's race.

The Sydney Marathon is in the second year of a three-year candidacy in its attempt to become the seventh World Marathon Major, alongside races in New York, Boston, Chicago, London, Tokyo and Berlin.

This year saw more than an Australian record 17,000 participants register for the event which takes in some of the city's most famous landmarks including crossing the Sydney Harbor Bridge and finishing at the Sydney Opera House.



Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
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Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and his deputy, Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz, attended the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris.

Held outside the traditional stadiums for the first time in history, the ceremony featured a parade of the 206 participating countries on 100 boats traveling approximately 6 kilometers along the Seine River.

The Saudi show jumping team player, Ramzy Al-Duhami, and his colleague, the Saudi Taekwondo champion Dunya Aboutaleb, raised the Saudi flag at the opening of the world’s largest sporting event.

Al-Duhami expressed his pride in raising the Kingdom’s flag alongside his teammate, noting that it was a dream for any Saudi citizen. He wished success for the Saudi athletes in representing Saudi sports with distinction.

Aboutaleb, in turn, said he was honored to carry the Kingdom’s flag at the Olympic Games, stating: “I aspire to perform at a level that reflects the support and attention given to sports in the Kingdom.”

The Saudi athletes’ uniform was admired by the international media and the audience, who applauded the players the moment their boat appeared on the Seine River.

The designs for the opening ceremony were chosen through a national competition organized by the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, with the participation of designers from across the Kingdom.

Out of 128 competing designers, the chosen uniform by Saudi designer Alia Al-Salmi featured traditional men’s thobes and bishts and brightly patterned thobe al-nashal for women, symbolizing the athletes’ pride in their homeland and cultural roots.

Mashael Al-Ayed, 17, will be the first Saudi athlete to compete, taking to the pool for the 200 meters freestyle swimming event on July 28. Al-Ayed is the first female swimmer to represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympics.