Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Kenyan world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir and Tanzania's Alphonce Simbu headline the 2026 TCS Sydney Marathon, a World Athletics Platinum Label road race and part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, scheduled for Sunday, April 30.
Jepchirchir returns to marathon competition after a stress fracture forced her to withdraw from the London Marathon earlier this year. She boasts marathon wins in New York (2021), Boston (2022), and London (2024), and a personal best of 2:14:43 set in Valencia in December 2025. Jepchirchir claimed the world marathon title in 2025 in Japan with a time of 2:24:43.
Top contenders in the women's race include Irine Cheptai, marathon debut winner in Hamburg (2024) with a 2:17:51 personal best; Magdalena Shauri, who set a Tanzanian national record of 2:18:03 in Chicago (2025); Uganda's Stella Chesang, 2018 Commonwealth 10,000m champion and 2026 Osaka Marathon winner; and Ethiopia's Shure Demise, who set a course record of 2:18:34 at the 2026 Paris Marathon.
In the men's race, Simbu faces competition from Sisay Lemma, former Boston and London Marathon winner; defending Sydney champion Hailemaryam Kiros; and several athletes with sub-2:05 times. The Sydney Marathon joined the Abbott World Marathon Majors in 2025, with Kiros and Sifan Hassan holding course records at 2:06:06 and 2:18:22, respectively.
The marathon course starts in North Sydney, crosses the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and finishes at the Sydney Opera House.