Pakistani athletes shine at Sydney Marathon as Faisal Shafi runs into record book

Runner Faisal Shafi sets Guinness World Record of running in light military uniform to honour country's armed forces

Faizan Lakhani

August 31, 2025

A collage showing Pakistani runners at Sydney Marathon. — Reporter/Instagram@muhammad.junaidd — A collage showing Pakistani runners at Sydney Marathon. — Reporter/[email protected]

KARACHI: Pakistani runners delivered impressive performances at Sunday's Sydney Marathon, the first edition of the event since its elevation to Abbott World Marathon Major status, with Karachi's Faisal Shafi setting a Guinness World Record of running in a light military uniform to honour the country's armed forces.

The race, now the seventh member of the prestigious marathon majors series alongside Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York, took runners on a scenic tour of Sydney's most iconic landmarks.

The course wound past the Opera House, across the Harbour Bridge, through the Royal Botanic Garden and along the picturesque waterfront of Sydney Cove.

Faisal Shafi completed the challenging 42.195-kilometre course in three hours, 40 minutes and 13 seconds while wearing light military gear, establishing what the Guinness World Records confirmed as a new world record for the category.

His achievement highlighted a strong showing by Pakistan's running community in this historic inaugural major marathon.

"It was an ideal time to pay tribute to Pakistan's armed forces, our martyrs, and the immense sacrifices of our soldiers," Shafi told Geo News after his feat, adding: "I am proud to have done that as a civilian on this global stage".

Faisal highlighted that it was a military-inspired uniform designed specially for the event but running while wearing the uniform was not an easy task.

Meanwhile, the fastest Pakistani finisher at the Sydney Marathon 2025 on Sunday was Australian-based Ali Zaidi, who clocked 3:05:33 to lead the contingent. He was followed by Islamabad's Bilal Ehsan, who posted 3:15:03 as the top performer among runners who traveled from Pakistan specifically for the event.

Fahd Mukhtar, Hamid Butt and Bacha Hussain were also among the top performers from Pakistan on Sunday's Sydney Marathon.

Shafi's performance also earned him his seventh star in the Abbott World Marathon Majors series, joining seven other Pakistani runners who achieved the same milestone in Sydney's debut as a major marathon.

The course, known for its challenging hills, particularly in the later stages around Mrs Macquarie's Chair and Art Gallery Road, tested runners' endurance with its undulating terrain.

The elite group of Pakistani seventh-star achievers included Fahd Mukhtar from Multan (3:29:21), Hamid Butt from Lahore (3:34:26), Huma Rahman from the United Kingdom (3:38:09), Dr. Salman Khan from the United States (3:39:50), Jamal Khan from the United States (4:10:10), Yusra Bokhari from the United States (5:13:49) and Ziyad Raheem from the United Kingdom (5:37:01).

Pakistani American runner Yusra Bokhari. — Reporter

Following her achievement, Pakistani American runner Bokhari said that being amongst the first Seven Star Finishers was a tremendous honour for her.

"As a Muslim and a Pakistani woman. Completing my six-star journey was a very challenging goal — which seemed elusive for many years.

"So making it to the first running of the Sydney Marathon as a major and earning Seven Star Finisher status — on such a difficult course — is an absolute blessing and a dream," she said while speaking to Geo News.

Amongst the 36 Pakistani runners, there were 10 Pakistani women as well who completed the marathon successfully, led by British-Pakistani runner Huma Rahman, who finished in 3:38:09. Other notable performances came from Norway-based Khoula Ahmed (3:52:53), UK's Semeena Khan (4:10:07) and Rawalpindi's Neelab Kayani (4:10:28).

Geo News' anchor Muhammad Junaid also completed the course in 4:04:09, among 36 Pakistani and overseas Pakistani runners who finished the race.

A total of 16 Pakistani runners completed the marathon in under four hours, demonstrating the growing depth of Pakistan's running community.

The Sydney Marathon's inclusion as the seventh world major marathon marks a significant expansion of the Abbott World Marathon Majors series, bringing elite international marathon running to Australia for the first time in the circuit's history.