The Sydney Marathon returns this Sunday, filling the city’s streets from Miller Street in North Sydney to the Opera House forecourt. Wheelchair athletes begin at 6:15 a.m., with runners starting at 6:30 a.m. The event regularly attracts both seasoned competitors and extraordinary personal stories. Among the most striking this year is the decision of a South Korean actress to enter the race while eight months pregnant, an effort that recalls the persistence of track and field mothers who have redefined what is possible in sport.

In recent years, figures such as Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Faith Kipyegon, and Allyson Felix have shown how motherhood and elite competition can coexist. Fraser-Pryce famously returned after a difficult pregnancy to win a 100-meter world title at age 32, describing

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