More than 40,000 runners from around the world are set to compete in the Sydney Marathon in Australia tomorrow, Sunday. Among them will be 24 Pakistani and Pakistani-origin runners, including 19 men and five women, who will represent Pakistan and the Pakistani community in the major international race.
The Pakistani contingent includes runners based in Karachi, Islamabad and Australia, as well as the United States, United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. Twelve runners have travelled from Pakistan to participate in the Sydney Marathon. From Karachi, Khalid Sheikh, Dr Jahanzeb Mughal, Noshirwan Ali, Shoaib Nizami, Ali Qazi, Danish Elahi, Hasnain Dharmse and Yousaf Malik will compete in the marathon.
The female runners include Kokub Sarwar, Dr Rabia Naeem, Mehwish Bilal, Hira Diwan and Syeda Maimunah Hamdani. Other Pakistani runners on the start list include Ali Zaidi, Aamir Butt, Qamar Zia, Junaid Memon, Zain Alam, Naveed Hassan, Omar Rashid, Tabish Mukhtar, Mir Shahzad and Dr Adnan Afzal. Karachi-based runner Danish Elahi will uniquely represent Pakistan at the Sydney Marathon. He plans to run the race wearing a shalwar kameez to promote a soft and positive image of Pakistan and raise awareness about the country.
Elahi said the Sydney Marathon will be his seventh marathon and that he was excited about the opportunity. He described Sydney as an ideal city for running. The 42.195-kilometre race will begin in North Sydney. Runners will cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge and pass through landmarks including The Rocks, Barangaroo and Darling Harbour before finishing near the Sydney Opera House. The Sydney Marathon became part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors in 2025. Cape Town joined the series in 2026, bringing the total number of World Marathon Majors to eight.