Addisu Gobena claims his first World Marathon Major triumph after finishing second last year, while Peres Jepchirchir adds Sydney to her victories in Boston, New York, and London.
Ethiopian runner Addisu Gobena and Kenyan world champion Peres Jepchirchir delivered dominant performances to claim the men’s and women’s titles at the Sydney Marathon.
The 21-year-old Ethiopian secured his first World Marathon Major victory after finishing second last year, while Jepchirchir added Sydney to her collection of triumphs in Boston, New York, and London.
Gobena made his decisive move in the final kilometer, powering to victory four seconds ahead of compatriot Chimdessa Debele Gudeta in a time of 2:04:42, with Lesotho’s Tebello Ramakongoana finishing third.
His dominant run shattered the course record by nearly a minute and a half, as last year’s winner Hailemaryam Kiros faded from the pace in the closing stages.
Gobena, a former javelin thrower who transitioned to long-distance running and gained international attention by winning the 2024 Dubai Marathon, said, “I am very happy.”
“Last year, I came in second and learned from that error,” Gobena explained. “I went back home, corrected my approach, and worked to break the record today.”
Jepchirchir was in a league of her own, crossing the finish line in front of the Sydney Opera House in 2:18:31, nearly four minutes ahead of fellow Kenyan Irine Cheptai and Ethiopia’s Shure Demise Ware.
“I was prepared, but I was uncertain if I would win upon arriving here, so I am incredibly glad and happy,” Jepchirchir remarked.
“The course was quite hilly. The first half was incredibly tough, but the second half was better—though it was still not easy,” she noted.
In the men’s race, the leading pack thinned to 15 runners by the halfway mark, including Gobena, world champion Alphonce Simbu, and Kiros.
Dawit Wolde, Vincent Ngetich, and Gobena all attempted breakaways, but the pack—reduced to seven runners with six kilometers remaining—reeled them back in.
The group remained intact at the 40-kilometer mark before Gobena and Gudeta launched their decisive move, pulling clear and leaving Gobena to outkick his countryman in the final sprint.
Kenya’s Priscah Cherono went out aggressively among the women, establishing a 20-second lead by 15 kilometers and a 30-second lead by the halfway point.
However, the lead chasers—now reduced to just Jepchirchir and Cheptai—caught the 46-year-old Kenyan just before the 30-kilometer mark.
Jepchirchir and Cheptai eased clear, and the relentless world champion then accelerated, finishing just nine seconds off the course record set by Olympic champion Sifan Hassan in 2025.
American Daniel Romanchuk claimed the men’s wheelchair title, while Switzerland’s Manuela Schar, a three-time Paralympic gold medalist, won the women’s race.
A record-breaking field of around 40,000 runners competed over the picturesque 42.19-kilometer course, which wound through the city from North Sydney, across the Harbour Bridge, to the finish line on the forecourt of the Opera House.
The race was elevated last year to become the seventh World Marathon Major, placing it alongside London, Tokyo, Boston, Berlin, Chicago, and New York in the elite global series.
