On the morning of August 30, 2026, the Sydney Marathon concluded.

The top three men ran under 2:05, and the top seven all beat the previous course record (2:06:06).

The champion was Ethiopian Addisu Gobena, who began his athletic career in the javelin. Wearing a Nike Alphafly 4 prototype, he made his decisive move after 35 km and powerfully lowered the course record to 2:04:42 — 1 minute 24 seconds faster. The 2004-born youngster claimed the first major title of his career; last year he was runner-up in Sydney in 2:06:16, and this year he avenged that finish.
 
Chimdessa Debele finished second, 4 seconds back. Lesotho’s Tebello Ramakongoana chose Xtep’s new flagship 160X 8.0 PRO and ran 2:04:57 to take third; he was also third last year (2:06:47) but improved by nearly two minutes this year. The 160X 8’s debut already landed it on a major podium — expectations are high for its future race performances.
 
On the women’s side, the champion and the third-place finisher wore the same model: adidas ADIZERO ADIOS PRO EVO 3. It helped Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir claim her first win since returning, finishing just 9 seconds shy of Sifan Hassan’s women’s course record set in 2025. Irine Cheptai took second in 2:22:11, and Shure Demise was third in 2:22:33.
 
Among the six podium places across men’s and women’s races, adidas led with three spots, Nike followed with two, and Xtep claimed one.

With autumn underway, the opening major’s pecking order has taken shape — what changes will follow?