Gobena Shatters Sydney Marathon Course Record as Jepchirchir Wins Women's Race
A 21-year-old Ethiopian who was throwing a javelin three years ago just ran the fastest Sydney Marathon in history. Addisu Gobena won the 2026 edition on Sunday, 30 August, in 2:04:42 — more than a minute and a half quicker than the course record Hailemaryam Kiros set in the same race last year.
Gobena's time of 2:04:42 demolished the 2:06:06 Kiros clocked in 2025, when the two Ethiopians broke clear together around 30km and Kiros outsprinted his compatriot to the line. This time Gobena was not to be denied. He and Chimdessa Debele Gudeta pulled away inside the final two kilometres before Gobena kicked to a four-second win. Lesotho's Tebello Ramakongoana completed the podium in 2:04:57. The depth was remarkable: the top seven men all finished inside Kiros's old course record, including Kiros himself.
Sydney is only in its second year as a marathon major — the elite tier that also includes New York, London, Berlin, Boston, Tokyo and Chicago. That elevation has drawn deeper fields and faster times, and the 2026 race delivered on both.
Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir took the women's title in 2:18:31, winning by more than three minutes. She is a familiar figure at the front of major marathons: Sydney is her fourth major victory, adding to earlier wins in Boston, New York and London. Kenyan compatriot Irene Cheptai finished second in 2:22:11, with Ethiopia's Shure Demise Ware third, 22 seconds further back. Jepchirchir's time fell nine seconds short of the 2:18:31 Sifan Hassan ran to win in Sydney last year — a mark that still stands as the women's course record.
The United States' Daniel Romanchuk won his first Sydney men's wheelchair title in a course record of 1:26:50, lowering the previous mark by more than 30 seconds. Switzerland's Manuela Schar took the women's wheelchair event in a record 1:42:04.
Away from the racing, organisers were left red-faced by a medal design error: each medal was etched with Munich's Allianz Arena instead of Sydney's Allianz Stadium. The mix-up did not affect the results, but it was an embarrassing footnote on a day when the racing itself was near-flawless.
What makes Gobena's run stand out is the improbability of it. He was a javelin thrower — a field event with no obvious connection to covering 42.2km on foot — until 2023. That he was already good enough to finish second in a marathon major last August suggests the transition was not a fluke. Going one better and taking the course record by 84 seconds suggests he is only getting started.
Jepchirchir, at 32, keeps adding chapters to a career already stacked with major titles. Her winning margin of over three minutes spoke to a race she controlled from the front rather than one she had to grind out. The chase for Hassan's course record will be a storyline to watch when Sydney reconvenes next year.
