Eliud Kipchoge, 41, wins the Melbourne Marathon and breaks the race record in his first marathon victory in three years
Eliud Kipchoge won the Nike Melbourne Marathon on Sunday, October 11, in what Al Jazeera and the Guardian called his first marathon win in three years, and broke the race record, according to ABC and The Age. ABC said he slowed to wave at the crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and still set the record. The Guardian quoted him saying “My body is still peaking”, and RUN247 said he called the occasion “bigger than sport”. The Japan Times, Clarín, NOS and Observador also reported the win, and Clarín and NOS noted he is 41. A preview by Marathon Handbook said the previous course record was 2:09:12, set in 2022, and that the route had been reshaped with about 20 per cent less climbing. We did not see his winning time. More than 20,000 runners took part, the Herald said.
Few athletes have shaped modern marathon running as Kipchoge has, and a win at 41, after a drought of three years, reopens the question of how long a champion can stay at the top.
If you ran or watched, the course was changed to be faster, with fewer hills and turns, so times may not compare with earlier years. The race was also the day a car hit a woman near the route, which is covered in Inside.
A race record at 41 shows what discipline and a well-designed course can deliver.
A reshaped, flatter course makes comparisons with past winners harder, and the record needs to be read with that in mind.
Watch for the official time and whether it is ratified as a race record, and whether Kipchoge’s next world-tour stop draws a similar crowd. We will report the time when two outlets agree on it.
DailyDrop Australia edition No. 8 · Morning · MON., OCT. 12, 2026