Kipchoge, 41, ends three-year drought with Melbourne Marathon course record

Eliud Kipchoge won the Melbourne Marathon on Sunday in a course record of 2 hours, 9 minutes and 10 seconds, his first victory over the distance since Berlin in 2023 and the 17th of his career.

The 41-year-old broke away inside the last 10 kilometres of a course that ran partly on the Albert Park Formula One circuit and finished inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He took two seconds off the record set by fellow Kenyan Timothy Kiplagat Ronoh in 2022, and could have gone faster had he not slowed to wave to the crowd.

Australia’s Thomas Do Canto was second in 2:10:35 and compatriot Reece Edwards third in 2:14:33. New Zealand’s Camille French won the women’s race in 2:28:25.

Melbourne was the third stop on Kipchoge’s world tour, in which he plans to run a marathon on all seven continents over two years. He finished 16th in Cape Town in May and 12th in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in July, and hopes to end the challenge in Antarctica.

After the race, the former world record holder said he believes his body is still peaking and that he is happy to keep racing the younger generation.