Kipchoge breaks Melbourne record to claim first marathon win in three years

Kenya’s two-time Olympic champion clocks a course record 2:09:10 at the MCG, reigniting his career at 41

By Valentine

Eliud Kipchoge is back. The Kenyan marathon legend delivered one of the most memorable performances of his remarkable career on Sunday, winning the 2026 Nike Melbourne Marathon in a new course record of 2 hours, 9 minutes and 10 seconds — and doing so with enough time to slow down, turn to the crowd inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and wave.

The two-time Olympic champion shaved two seconds off the previous course record of 2:09:12, set by fellow Kenyan Timothy Ronoh in 2022, to claim his 17th career marathon victory. It was his first win in three years, since Berlin in 2023, and it felt every bit like a champion rediscovering his stride.

Kipchoge crossed the finish line one minute and 25 seconds ahead of Australia’s Thomas Do Canto, who took second in 2:10:35. Compatriot Reece Edwards was third in 2:14:33. In the women’s race, New Zealand’s Camille French won convincingly in 2:28:25.

The victory will mean a great deal to a man who has known difficult times in recent years. A 10th-place finish in Tokyo in 2024 and a DNF at the Paris Olympics had raised questions about whether the greatest marathon runner of his generation could still compete at the front of the field. Sunday’s performance in Melbourne was a powerful answer.

Kipchoge broke away inside the last 10 kilometres on a redesigned course that ran partly through the Australian Formula One circuit at Albert Park before finishing inside the iconic MCG. The 2026 course was rebuilt to be faster and flatter, with 20 per cent less elevation and 30 per cent fewer turns than its predecessor — changes that stripped out the notorious climb at the 36-kilometre mark that had long made Melbourne one of the more demanding urban marathons on the circuit.

Speaking after the race, Kipchoge said: “On the course, it was really wonderful. I enjoyed seeing people standing, cheering and shouting my name. I believe that my body is still peaking, still able to compete with the next generation.”

President William Ruto added his congratulations, saying: “At 41, he continues to compete and win, flying our flag high on the global stage.”

The Melbourne result was the third stop on Kipchoge’s ambitious Eliud’s Running World tour — a project to complete a marathon on all seven continents within two years, raising funds for his foundation. He opened the tour on May 24, 2026 at the Cape Town Marathon, crossing the line in 2:13:29. His second stop came in Porto Alegre, Brazil in July, where he ran 2:18:42 to finish 12th at the NB42k Porto Alegre Marathon. Melbourne was emphatically the best of the three — and a reminder that, at 41, Eliud Kipchoge is far from finished.

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