Strintzos runs 2:06:20 at Gold Coast: Australian record, first home win since 2006

Haftu Strintzos won the Gold Coast Marathon on Sunday in 2:06:20, a course record, an Australian record and an Oceanian record. Yuki Takei's course record of 2:07:33 was a year old; Strintzos took 73 seconds off it. He is the first Australian man to win the race since Lee Troop in 2006.

Strintzos, 26, from Melbourne, said he felt good from about 30 km. Hidekazu Hijikata of Japan stayed with him until the northern turn at 36.6 km, then Strintzos went. Hijikata was second in 2:07:20, Jinya Ozaki third in 2:07:48, Ryoma Takeuchi fourth in 2:08:20 and Kaisei Sugiyama fifth in 2:09:03. Seven of the top ten were Japanese.

Strintzos was born in Tigray in northern Ethiopia and grew up herding sheep, with no idea running was a sport. He came to Australia in 2011 with his adopted mother, Maria Strintzos, joined Oakleigh Little Athletics after a primary school teacher noticed him, and now lives in Bentleigh and is coached from Adelaide by Adam Didyk. Gold Coast was only his fourth marathon.

Almaz Kebebe of Ethiopia, 20, won the women's race in 2:24:53 after chasing down rivals who pushed early. Antonina Kwambai of Kenya was second in 2:25:41 and Kaede Kawamura of Japan third in 2:28:00. Abigail Nordberg was the first Australian, fourth in a personal best 2:30:22, with four Australians in the top ten. Yuki Nakamura's women's course record of 2:24:22 from 2024 stood by 31 seconds.

A flat course by the sea in the southern winter, and a local who learned to run after he arrived. That is the whole story, and it is a good one.

Sources: Gold Coast Marathon; Gold Coast Marathon; Australian Athletics.