Liam Adams and Leanne Pompeani have claimed victory in the men’s and women’s races at the City2Surf as the event returned to the streets of Sydney for the first time since 2019.

Adams’ win on the world famous 14km course between Sydney’s CBD and Bondi Beach was his third City2Surf title, and first since 2012.

Australia’s fastest electrician was joined at the front of the field by Ed Goddard, with the two pushing each other for much of the race before Adams kicked away to cross the line in 41:08, 14 seconds clears of Goddard with Andre Waring a further minute behind in third.

“I got out reasonably strong, the legs didn’t feel too good so I just thought I’d tuck in with Ed and see how I go, we got up Heartbreak Hill and we were going pretty slow so I thought I’d make a bit of a move there, he was getting a bit too comfortable so I thought I’d make him hurt a little bit,” said Adams. “I made a move, got a bit of a lead and started struggling a bit after that, the marathon legs kicked in and I struggled a bit.

“The atmosphere was amazing, incredible, it always is,” he said. “The bands and everyone along the sidelines really get right behind you. It’s an incredible race, the biggest fun run in the world, you don’t get that much participation or people running anywhere else in the world so it’s an incredible event and it’s just great sharing it with everyone. Can’t wait to join everyone else for a beer after and hear their stories.”

Adams’ City2Surf victory capped off a big couple of weeks for the 35-year-old, with him finishing fourth in the marathon at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games a fortnight ago.

“I thought the legs pulled up fairly well, I’ve been struggling a fair bit with jet lag over the last few days, I’m in between London time and Australian time so I’ve been falling asleep about four o’clock every afternoon, conking out and waking up with a bit of a headache and migraine and that, so really struggled since then but I thought that wasn’t too bad,” said Adams. “I think most people say you probably need to have a couple of months off after a marathon and then start building up, but I did a race two weeks later, maybe it was a bit silly doing that.”

Leanne Pompeani was first across the line in the women’s race in 45:43, less than 30 seconds ahead of Chloe Tighe, with Aynslee Van Graan third.

The 26-year-old was racing the City2Surf competitively for the first time and impressed on her debut.

“It feels really good, obviously everyone knows how iconic City2Surf is, hasn’t been on for two years and my first time running it competitively, so I didn’t really know what I was in for but super happy with that performance,” said Pompeani. “I’m a strength runner so I knew I wanted to push the hills and use them in my favour and I did. The last 3km downhill wasn’t easy but I’d sort of banked some time.

“You look at the past winners list and see who’s done it, all our Australian distance running greats have done it so it’s nice to get my name on that list too,” she said.

Pompeani enjoyed being back part of a major running event, following the disruptions of the last two years.

“It felt so good, the whole way there was just action which helps immensely,” she said. “You get some races where you get a lot of quiet time where you’re just in your own head but here there was just music and crowds the whole way, people cheering for you. So good. The mass participation as well, it doesn’t get any better.”

Pompeani was just over 30 seconds behind the women’s race record set by Susie Power in 2001.

“I didn’t know the record was 45:08, I looked at the past winners list before racing and I knew I had the goal of wanting to run it in the 45 minute so I’m really happy with the time,” said Pompeani. “I always tell myself don’t think you’ve won it until you cross the finish line because you can hear a lot of breathing behind you but you don’t know if it’s male or female, so you don’t let up until the line.”

Samuel Rizzo claimed victory in the Elite Wheelchair race, making his way from the CBD to Bondi Beach in 41:50, almost two minutes ahead of Richard Colman, with Jacqueline Godfrey the first female in 1:49:33.

Runners are continuing to make their way across the finish line on Bondi Beach, with more than 60,000 expected to take part in the 50th physical running of the City2Surf.

TOP 5 MALES

1. Liam Adams - 00:41:14

2. Ed Goddard - 00:41:28

3. Andre Waring - 00:42:27

4. Arron Spiessberger-Parker - 00:43:03

5. Aidan Hobbs - 00:43:23

TOP 5 FEMALES

1. Leanne Pompeani - 00:45:49

2. Chloe Tighe - 00:46:18

3. Aynslee Van Graan - 00:47:05

4. Charlotte Wilson - 00:48:40

5. Niamh Allen - 00:48:47

ELITE WHEELCHAIR

1. Samuel Rizzo - 00:41:50

2. Richard Colman - 00:43:37

3. Jacqueline Godfrey - 01:49:33

Full Results Available Here.