Schaer becomes first woman to claim all seven Majors with Sydney Marathon win

Daniel Romanchuk smashed Marcel Hug’s course record to win the 2026 Sydney Marathon, claiming his first Abbott World Marathon Majors since 2024. Manuela Schaer won the women’s wheelchair race on Sunday (30 August), becoming the first female athlete to win all seven Marathon Majors.

The women’s race was a far tighter contest, with Schaer – chasing history – and Eden Rainbow-Cooper, looking to build on her Boston win in April, locked in an intriguing duel. The pair were inseparable through 25km when Schaer surged just before the elevated section leading into Driver Avenue.

The Swiss star managed to open a decisive 1:16 gap over Great Britain’s Rainbow-Cooper, effectively ending the contest.

All that was remained was to see whether Schaer could break the course record – which she duly did, and comfortably – finishing in 1:42:04, well under Susannah Scaroni’s 2025 mark of 1:44:52. 
Rainbow-Cooper clocked 1:47:17, with USA’s Tatyana McFadden finishing third (1:51:08).

Schaer added her first Sydney Major win to an extraordinary resume: Berlin (seven victories), Boston (four victories), Tokyo (four victories), London (three victories), New York (three victories) and Chicago (one victory).

“It’s such a big surprise, actually. I hadn’t had the best start of the season and in Tokyo in March I had the worst race of my life. I’m getting older and it’s getting harder, [this win] is really surprising and I’m really emotional,” Schaer said after the win.

The men’s race saw Romanchuk take his first win since his victory since New York in November 2024. The USA wheelchair racer broke the course record set by Hug last year, when the Swiss became the first athlete to win all seven Majors.

Great Britain’s David Weir carried much of the pre-race attention with Hug absent from Sydney, and he signalled his intentions early by pushing into the lead on the Harbour Bridge incline. 

But the race shifted after the 10km mark when Romanchuk took control through the elevation into Oxford Street, establishing an impressive 1:14 lead by halfway over Weir and China’s Luo Xingchuan.
Such was his dominance that by 25km he was already well under Hug’s course-record pace.

Romanchuk held firm, crossing the line against the backdrop of the Sydney Opera House in 1:26:50, lowering the record by 30 seconds.

He was almost five minutes ahead of Weir, who narrowly held off Xingchuan in an exciting battle for second.

More information about the World Marathon Majors can be found here.

A COURSE RECORD 🤯🇺🇸

Daniel Romanchuk absolutely flies to win the men's wheelchair race in 1:26:50! #SydneyMarathon | August 30 | SBS & SBS On Demand 📺 pic.twitter.com/yTAUhYE0ad

— SBS Sport (@SBSSportau) August 29, 2026

Sydney Marathon 2026 – Men’s wheelchair race top 10

1 – Daniel Romanchuk (USA) – 1:26:50  

2 – David Weir (GBR) – 1:31:33  

3 – Luo Xingchuan (CHN) – 1:31:35  

4 – Tomoki Suzuki (JPN) – 1:31:42  

5 – Gerard Schipper (NED) – 1:31:52  

6 – Sho Watanabe (JPN) – 1:35:41  

7 – Robert Joshua Cassidy (CAN) – 1:37:26  

8 – Miguel Jimenez Vergara (USA) – 1:39:34  

9 – Kota Hokanuie (JPN) – 1:41:48  

10 – Masazumi Soejima (JPN) – 1:51:29

Sydney Marathon 2026 – Women’s wheelchair race top 10

1 – Manuela Schaer (SUI) – 1:42:04  

2 – Eden Rainbow‑Cooper (GBR) – 1:47:17  

3 – Tatyana McFadden (USA) – 1:51:08  

4 – Madison de Rozario (AUS) – 1:53:34  

5 – Vanessa Cristina de Souza (BRA) – 1:54:45  

6 – Eliza Ault‑Connell (AUS) – 2:01:14  

7 – Tsubasa Nakamine (JPN) – 2:06:02  

8 – Michelle Wheeler (USA) – 2:26:17  

9 – Mikaela Dingley (AUS) – 2:40:14  

10 – Sharnie Digby (AUS) – 3:47:03