Addisu Gobena broke the Sydney Marathon course record with a 2:04:42 victory, improving the previous mark by one minute and 24 seconds.
Peres Jepchirchir completed an African sweep of the titles, winning the women’s race by more than three minutes in 2:18:31.
SYDNEY | By Sayer Zaland
Ethiopia’s Addisu Gobena produced the fastest marathon ever recorded on Australian soil on Sunday, while Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir dominated the women’s race at the Sydney Marathon.
Gobena crossed the finish line at the Sydney Opera House in two hours, four minutes and 42 seconds, cutting 84 seconds from the course record set by fellow Ethiopian Hailemaryam Kiros in 2025.
The 21-year-old made his decisive move away from a five-man leading group late in the race. Only four seconds separated him from Ethiopian runner-up Chimdessa Debele, who finished in 2:04:46, while Lesotho’s Tebello Ramakongoana took third in 2:04:57.
“Last year I came second, I learnt from my mistake,” Gobena said after returning to Sydney and turning his 2025 runner-up finish into a record-breaking victory.
Jepchirchir delivered the clearer winning margin in the women’s event. The Kenyan world champion finished in 2:18:31, with compatriot Irine Cheptai more than three minutes behind in 2:22:11. Ethiopia’s Shure Demise was third in 2:22:33.
Her time fell just nine seconds short of the 2:18:22 course record set by Sifan Hassan in 2025. The victory nevertheless gave Jepchirchir a fourth win at a major marathon and marked a strong return after a stress fracture forced her to miss the London Marathon earlier this year.
The 32-year-old won the Olympic marathon title at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and added the world championship title in 2025. In Sydney, she separated herself from the field decisively and maintained her advantage through the closing stages.
Gobena’s result also underlined the depth of the men’s race. All three podium finishers bettered the previous course record, with only 15 seconds separating first and third place.
The performances were confirmed in the official World Athletics report and independently reported by Reuters.
File photo: Peres Jepchirchir competes in the elite women’s race at the 2024 London Marathon. Photo by Katie Chan/Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.