Kipchoge, 41, sets course record at Melbourne Marathon

Kenyan distance runner Eliud Kipchoge, a two-time Olympic marathon champion, won the Melbourne Marathon in Australia in a course record time of 2:09:10. It was his 17th career victory over the distance and his first since the Berlin Marathon in 2023. At 41, Kipchoge says the result shows he can still compete with younger runners.

The route ran partly along the Australian Formula One circuit at Albert Park and finished inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Kipchoge slowed down inside the stadium to wave to the crowd.

Podium places

Australian Thomas do Canto took second in 2:10:35, and his compatriot Reece Edwards was third. In the women's race, New Zealand's Camille French won in 2:28:25, ahead of Australia's Sinead Diver and Ireland's Nichola Sheridan.

What Kipchoge said

"I believe that my body is still peaking – still able to compete with the next generation," Kipchoge said. He added that the oldest athlete is still competing but that he is happy to run with Gen Z. He described the experience of running on a Formula One track and finishing on a cricket ground as different, and said he is proud to inspire Melbourne's running community.

Part of a world tour

Melbourne was the third leg of Kipchoge's world tour, in which he hopes to run a marathon on all seven continents, including Antarctica, over two years. Each race raises funds for the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation, which focuses on education, environmental sustainability and health.

Kipchoge is regarded as one of the greatest long-distance runners of all time. He has won two Olympic marathon golds, plus a silver and a bronze over 5000m, a world title, 12 World Marathon Major races and two official world records. In 2019 in Vienna he became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours under special conditions, clocking an unofficial 1:59:40.