World champions Jepchirchir and Simbu lead strong fields for Sydney Marathon

World champions Peres Jepchirchir and Alphonce Simbu will lead high-quality fields at the Sydney Marathon, a World Athletics Platinum Label road race and part of the World Marathon Majors this Sunday.

Kenya’s Jepchirchir faces a women’s field that includes Irine Cheptai, Magdalena Shauri, Stella Chesang, Shure Demise, Haven Hailu and Vivian Cheruiyot, while Tanzania’s Simbu will take on former Boston and London champion Sisay Lemma, defending Sydney champion Hailemaryam Kiros and a host of other sub-2:05 performers.

Sydney joined the World Marathon Majors in 2025, when Kiros and Sifan Hassan set course records of 2:06:06 and 2:18:22 respectively. The race starts in North Sydney, crosses Sydney Harbour Bridge and finishes at the Sydney Opera House.

Jepchirchir heads the women’s field less than a year after adding the world marathon title to an already extensive collection of major honours.

The Kenyan, Olympic champion in Tokyo in 2021, returned to Japan last year and won the world title by outsprinting Tigst Assefa in the National Stadium to take gold in 2:24:43. She then finished second in Valencia in December, clocking a PB of 2:14:43.

Jepchirchir’s major marathon victories include New York in 2021, Boston in 2022 and London in 2024. Her preparations for London earlier this year were interrupted by a stress fracture and she withdrew from the race, making Sydney her return to the marathon distance.

One of her strongest challengers could be compatriot Cheptai, whose success stretches back to her victory at the 2017 World Cross Country Championships.

Cheptai has quickly established herself among the world’s leading marathon runners since moving up in distance. She won in Hamburg on her marathon debut in 2024 and later that year finished third in Chicago in a PB of 2:17:51. She was fourth in Boston in 2025 and returned to the race this April, finishing sixth in 2:20:54.

Tanzania’s Shauri also arrives with strong major-marathon credentials. She set a national record of 2:18:03 when finishing third in Chicago last October, having spent much of the first half of that race operating at close to 2:15 pace.

Uganda’s Chesang has already tasted victory in 2026. The 2018 Commonwealth 10,000m champion won the Osaka Women’s Marathon in January in 2:19:31, having set her 2:18:26 PB in Valencia in 2024. She also represented Uganda in the marathon at last year’s World Championships, finishing 12th.

Perhaps the most in-form athlete in the field is Ethiopia’s Demise. She won the Paris Marathon in April in 2:18:34, taking more than a minute off the course record after producing a negative split and breaking away from her rivals late in the race.

Compatriot Hailu is another 2026 marathon winner. She took the Seoul title in March in 2:19:09, leading an Ethiopian sweep of the podium. Kenya’s Joyce Tele finished fourth in that race in 2:19:50 and will also line up in Sydney.

Sharon Chelimo adds further Kenyan strength after finishing fifth in Paris in April in 2:20:03, while Ethiopia’s Aberu Ayana has a PB of 2:20:20 and finished eighth at the Tokyo Marathon earlier this year in 2:20:30.

There will also be particular interest in the return of Cheruiyot to Sydney. The Kenyan contested the Olympic 5000m final in the city in 2000 and returns 26 years later as one of the most decorated distance runners of her generation.

Her career since then has included Olympic 5000m gold, multiple world track and cross-country titles and victory at the 2018 London Marathon. She showed her continuing competitiveness over 42.195km by finishing fifth in London last year.

The Australian contingent includes Ellie Pashley, who has a best of 2:26:21 and won the Ballarat Marathon in April.

The Australian Marathon Championships will once again be incorporated into the event as Sydney stages its second edition as an Abbott World Marathon Major.

Alphonce Simbu arrives in Sydney having put together an impressive sequence of performances over the past 18 months.

He finished second at the Boston Marathon in 2025 in 2:05:04, then went on to win the world marathon title in Tokyo in September, edging Germany’s Amanal Petros by just 0.03 in a dramatic sprint finish. The victory made Simbu the first Tanzanian athlete to win a global athletics title.

He returned to Boston in April and improved significantly, finishing second to John Korir in 2:02:47 – the fastest marathon of Simbu’s career, although performances on Boston’s point-to-point course are not eligible for record purposes.

On paper, the fastest man in the Sydney field is Ethiopia’s Lemma, whose 2:01:48 victory in Valencia in 2023 ranks him among the fastest marathon runners in history. He followed that performance by winning the 2024 Boston Marathon, having previously triumphed in London in 2021.

His more recent marathon outings have been less successful, however, and he will be looking to recapture his best form after failing to finish in Seoul in March.

Kenya’s Timothy Kiplagat also brings a sub-2:03 PB to the field. He clocked 2:02:55 when finishing second at the 2024 Tokyo Marathon and will be looking to return to that level in Sydney.

Compatriot Vincent Ngetich has built an impressive record in major marathons since making his debut in Berlin in 2023, where he finished second in 2:03:13. He went on to finish third in Tokyo in both 2024 and 2025 and returned there this year, placing ninth in 2:05:21.

Defending champion Kiros knows the Sydney course better than most. The Ethiopian won last year’s race in a course record of 2:06:06, ahead of compatriot Addisu Gobena and Lesotho’s Tebello Ramakongoana. Kiros has since produced the fastest marathon of his career, clocking 2:03:42 to finish fourth in Boston in April.

Ramakongoana also returns after taking third in Sydney last year. The Olympic and world championships finalist finished sixth in Boston this year in 2:04:18, substantially quicker than the 2:06:47 he ran on the Sydney course 12 months ago.

There is considerable depth behind them. Kenya’s Gilbert Kibet and Enock Kinyamal both made significant breakthroughs at the Seoul Marathon in March, Kibet finishing third in 2:04:31 and Kinyamal sixth in 2:04:46.

Ethiopia’s Seifu Tura, the 2021 Chicago Marathon champion, is another experienced major marathon performer. He finished sixth in Chicago last year in 2:05:17 before placing eighth in Tokyo in March in 2:05:02.

The field also includes Ethiopia’s Dawit Wolde, Leul Gebresilase, Chimdesa Debele, Chalu Deso and Chala Regassa, as well as Kenya’s Kennedy Kimutai.

Australia’s challenge is led by national record-holder Andy Buchanan, who clocked 2:06:22 in Valencia in 2024. He is joined by Tim Vincent and Liam Boudin, who represented Australia in the marathon at last year’s World Championships in Tokyo.

Women
Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) 2:14:43

Irine Cheptai (KEN) 2:17:51
Magdalena Shauri (TAN) 2:18:03
Stella Chesang (UGA) 2:18:26
Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN) 2:18:31
Shure Demise (ETH) 2:18:34
Haven Hailu (ETH) 2:19:09
Sharon Chelimo (KEN) 2:19:33
Joyce Tele (KEN) 2:19:50
Meseret Abebaayahu (ETH) 2:19:50
Aberu Ayana (ETH) 2:20:20
Waganesh Mekasha (ETH) 2:20:26
Azmera Gebru (ETH) 2:20:48
Jackline Cherono (KEN) 2:21:14
Fikrte Wereta (ETH) 2:21:32
Biruktayit Degefa (USA) 2:21:34
Kaoutar Farkoussi (MAR) 2:25:12
Priscah Cherono (KEN) 2:25:17
Mizuki Nishimura (JPN) 2:25:54
Ellie Pashley (AUS) 2:26:21