Six world records in a single marathon: runners in Sydney competed in beer-can and turtle costumes

Six Guinness World Records were set in a single day at the Sydney Marathon, which took place on 30 August. All six applications submitted before the start were successful: runners finished in a beer-can costume, a green turtle outfit, scout uniform and traditional Bhutanese clothing.

More than 40,000 participants from over 140 countries completed the 42.195 km distance this year. The race started at 6:15 a.m. on Miller Street in North Sydney and finished outside the Sydney Opera House. Since 2025, the race has been part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors series — the seventh event in the series.

The first of the record holders to cross the finish line was Australian Toby Fuller, with a time of 3:18:01 — the fastest marathon time for a man with multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer of the plasma cells. He was diagnosed at the age of 23, has lived with the disease for five years and continues to receive maintenance chemotherapy.

Shortly afterwards, Brisbane's Kent Ohori claimed a record with a time of 3:28:27 in a beer-can costume. Another title went to Sydney resident Phil Brent: 3:45:52 in a green turtle costume. He ran in support of a litter-prevention campaign led by the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority.

The remaining three records were distributed as follows: Chris Fyvie — 3:36:27 with an implanted defibrillator, Rebecca Joyner — 3:55:37 in scout uniform, and Nilhari Bhandari — 4:07:06 in traditional Bhutanese clothing.

It is worth bearing in mind that Guinness World Records in such categories are recorded separately for each costume and each medical condition, so “world record” here means the best result in a very narrowly defined category, not an absolute achievement. The overall marathon winners typically finish in just over two hours.