FIRST GC MARATHON WINNER TO TRY AGAIN
THE winner of the Gold Coast Marathon’s first ever event is returning to the Glitter Strip for another crack at the gruelling race.
Melbourne man Eric Sigmont won the first Gold Coast Marathon in 1979 and will fly up at the end of this month to compete once more — 40 years later.
Now 69, the running fanatic admits he is under no illusions he will place despite continuing to train for the big event.
“I’m not sure if I’m doing the full marathon (or the half),” he said. “It won’t be easy. It will be pretty hard for me to do it. If I ran (the full marathon), it would be to finish it. But I’m looking forward to coming up.”
A former student at the University of Houston under an athletic scholarship, Mr Sigmont won the first Gold Coast Marathon in 2:28:42.
First prize was a free trip to Honolulu donated by QANTAS, where he placed 26th out of around 10,000 competitors at the famous Honolulu Marathon.
He joined the Glenhuntly Athletic Club in 1964 alongside triple Olympic medallist Ron Clarke and later, world champion Robert de Castella.
Mr Sigmont said when he ran the 1979 Gold Coast Marathon, it took him two days to drive up on the Friday and Saturday. He won the 42km race the next day.
He said he still trained by running 5km each day with his dog, playing golf twice a week and swimming three times a week.
“I’d like to see Mary Murison, the first female who won the marathon,” he said. “If we could run together in one of the events that would be good.”
The Gold Coast Marathon will be held on June 30 and July 1.