Peter Kwemoi Ndorobo of Kenya won the 40th Venice Marathon on 25 October in 2:07:31, a new course record. The time improved by ten seconds on the 2:07:41 that Uganda's Solomon Mutai Munyo ran in 2023, and it was the fastest time ever recorded on the Venice course.
The race was decided late. Ndorobo made his decisive move on the Ponte della Libertà , the causeway linking the mainland to the lagoon city, and shook off an Ethiopian rival before crossing the pontoon bridge over the Grand Canal. He then ran the closing stretch alone through Piazza San Marco to the finish.
Ethiopia's Berhanu Tarto Yatede was second in 2:07:47 and Kenya's Dikson Simba Nyakundi third in 2:07:56. For the first time in the history of the race, three men finished inside 2:08, a measure of the depth that a flat, bridge-punctuated course has attracted in recent years.
In the women's race Jackline Jerono of Kenya won in 2:26:16 after a late duel with Ethiopia's Alemaz Teshale, who was second. Jerono recovered from a problem at a water station near the 40th kilometre to hold off her rival over the final stretch.
Participation was a talking point as well. Organisers reported about 24,000 registrations from 124 countries across the marathon and its accompanying races, while around 10,200 runners started the marathon itself, 55 per cent of them from outside Italy. With Venice now producing sub-2:08 depth, it joins the list of autumn marathons that combine fast times with an international field.