Curwood makes history at Sydney Marathon

A 15-YEAR-OLD Torquay resident has made history as the youngest competitor ever to compete in the prestigious Sydney Half Marathon.

Among a record-setting 42,000 competitors, Willem Curwood turned heads by completing only his second 21.1km race in a speedy time of 1:37.32.

His efforts placed him in the top five percent of racegoers and 44th in the open age group, which featured competitors up to the age of 24.

Mr Curwood said he was proud of his efforts in what was the biggest marathon in Australian history.

“It felt pretty cool to be the youngest ever to compete in the event!

“It was an absolutely huge event, and the conditions were really tough with over 33-degree weather throughout the race.

“The lead-up involved quite a bit of preparation. I just slowly built myself up for it.

“I did the 5km Run for Geelong last year, then did 10km Port Fairy in February, the Run for Kids in Melbourne at 15km and then recently completed the half marathon on the Sunshine Coast too.

“It’s been great to really give it a go. I’ve always had a passion for running and sport.

“While I didn’t quite beat my 1.35.00 personal best from the Sunshine Coast, I was really proud of how I went in Sydney.”

The 15-year-old said he has his sights set on completing his first full marathon in Port Fairy in 2024.

“I’ve got special permission to do it as I’ll just be under the 16-year-old cut off.

“I’m really looking forward to it and will be working hard to get it done to the best of my ability.

“It’ll be a great challenge.”

Long-term, Mr Curwood said he is targeting the 2036 Brisbane Olympics as a marathon runner.

“I’m going to hopefully try for Brisbane, that’s the big goal.

“Maybe I could try for the earlier Olympics, but doing one at home would be much cooler!

“I’ll just keep training hard and see where it goes.”