Kipchoge, 41, wins the Melbourne Marathon in a course record
The two-time Olympic champion pulled clear in the final 10 kilometres to win in 2:09:10, two seconds inside the race record, for his first marathon victory since 2023.
Eliud Kipchoge won the Melbourne Marathon on Sunday in a course record of 2 hours 9 minutes 10 seconds, two seconds faster than the previous best on the course. It was the 41-year-old’s first marathon victory since 2023.
The two-time Olympic champion and former world record holder pulled clear inside the final 10 kilometres of the 42.2 km race and finished inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground, ABC News reported. Australia’s Thomas Do Canto was second in 2:10:35 and his compatriot Reece Edwards was third.
New Zealand’s Camille French won the women’s race in 2:28:25. Australia’s Sinead Diver was second, 23 seconds behind, and Ireland’s Nichola Sheridan was third, a further 24 seconds back.
A tour, not a farewell
Kipchoge is running a marathon on every continent, Antarctica included. Melbourne was the third stop on that tour, according to Marathon Handbook, and his first appearance in the race. In May, in Cape Town, he finished 16th in 2:13:29.
Melbourne’s organisers redesigned the course this year to make it flatter and faster. It now runs down St Kilda Road, past Flinders Street Station and around Albert Park Lake before finishing at the MCG, which hosted the start and finish of the 1956 Olympic marathon 70 years ago.
Kipchoge called the day “a beautiful time for me”, ABC News reported.
What the time means
A 2:09 marathon is a long way from the 2:01:09 Kipchoge ran in Berlin in 2022, which was then the world record. The marathon has since moved on: Sabastian Sawe ran 1:59:30 in London in April, and Amos Kipruto matched Kipchoge’s Berlin time in Chicago on the same day as this race.
But course records depend on the course and the field. On a redesigned route, Kipchoge ran the closing kilometres alone and still lowered the mark.
For athletes in their 40s, the result carries a quieter message. At 41, Kipchoge is no longer chasing world records. He is choosing races for the experience and still winning them.
