Eliud Kipchoge won the Melbourne Marathon in a course record of 2:09:10 on Sunday 11 October, finishing inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground to a warm reception from the crowd. The result is the first marathon victory for the two-time Olympic champion in three years and came on his first appearance at the Australian event.
The winning time took two seconds off the previous course record. Kipchoge pulled clear in the closing stages and was able to acknowledge the spectators during the final half-lap of the stadium. Australia's Thomas Do Canto was second in 2:10:35, 1 minute 25 seconds behind, with compatriot Reece Edwards third in 2:14:33.
The performance is well adrift of Kipchoge's official personal best of 2:01:09, set at the 2022 Berlin Marathon, but the context is different. Melbourne was the latest stop on what has been billed as his World Tour, a project to run a marathon on each of the seven continents, and it is reported to be his 17th career marathon win. Course records are rarely the primary goal of such an itinerary, which makes the result notable.
In the women's race, New Zealand's Camille French won in 2:28:25, 24 seconds ahead of Australia's Sinead Diver, who clocked 2:28:49. Ireland's Nichola Sheridan completed the podium in 2:29:13.
At 41, a record-setting win on a flat, fast city course will prompt further interest in how he sequences his remaining seasons. For Melbourne, the victory gives the event a headline name in its record books at a time when major marathons across the world are reporting growing demand.