REIGNING WORLD CHAMPIONS LEAD A LANDMARK MARATHON FIELD FOR TCS SYDNEY MARATHON

Top international and Australian athletes to descend on Sydney for historic chapter of Australia’s largest marathon 

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(Sydney, 29 June 2026) The TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS has today confirmed its elite fields, with the reigning World Champions in both the men’s and women’s marathon headlining an extraordinary lineup of domestic and international athletes. Taking place on Sunday 30 August, Sydney will host the deepest and most celebrated marathon field in Australian history. 

The Australian Marathon Championships returns to the TCS Sydney Marathon this year, offering the richest prize purse available to Australian marathon athletes. For the country's best male and female runners, Sydney represents not only the chance to test themselves against the world's finest, but a genuine opportunity to compete for prize money that reflects the ambition and stature of Australia's largest marathon. 

Minister for Sport and Minister for Jobs and Tourism Steve Kamper said: "The world's best runners are coming to Sydney, and they're coming because this is the most beautiful marathon course on the planet. 

“Global interest has grown exponentially since we secured our position as an Abbott World Marathon Major, and the calibre of this field proves it. 

“The world's best will be running our stunning harbourside course alongside tens of thousands of visitors. That's exactly the kind of marathon that Sydney delivers." 

TCS Sydney Marathon Race Director Wayne Larden said this year’s elite program marks a new chapter for the event: 

“For the first time in the event's history, both reigning World Champions will toe the same start line, on the same day, in the same city. 

“The calibre of athletes across all four divisions speaks for itself, but what excites me most is what this field means for Australian marathon running. Our domestic athletes will line up against the best in the world, competing for the richest prize purse in the history of the Australian Marathon Championships. That combination of world-class competition and genuine opportunity for our own is exactly what this event was built to deliver.”

Australian Athletics President Jane Flemming OAM said the 2026 elite field represents a defining moment for marathon running and its future in Australia: 

“Every young Australian who lines the streets of Sydney on 30 August watching the world's best marathoners race past them, is a potential future champion. That is the power of events like this. The TCS Sydney Marathon is not just a race, it is a recruitment ground for the next generation of Australian marathon runners, and the talent coming through suggests the future of the sport in this country has never been brighter.”

Elite Men’s Field 

Leading the charge is Alphonce Simbu (TAN), the reigning World Champion and one of the most compelling figures in marathon running today. Simbu claimed gold at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, becoming the first Tanzanian athlete in history to win a world title in athletics. With a personal best time of 02:02:47, he will make his TCS Sydney Marathon debut in the form of his life, having finished second at the 2025 and 2026 Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America. 

Joining Simbu on the start line is Sisay Lemma (ETH), whose personal best of 2:01:48 makes him the fastest man in the field. A former Boston and London Marathon champion, Lemma brings a wealth of Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) experience to Sydney. 

Also confirmed is Timothy Kiplagat (KEN), one of the most quietly formidable contenders in the men's field. A personal best of 2:02:55, set at the 2024 Tokyo Marathon where he pushed the eventual winner to the line, places him among the fastest men in the race on paper. A former Olympic reserve for Kenya and holder of the Melbourne Marathon course record, Kiplagat arrives in Sydney with a point to prove on the world stage. 

Also confirmed is Vincent Ngetich (KEN), one of the most consistent performers on the AbbottWMM circuit. The 26-year-old has claimed a podium finish at an AbbottWMM in three consecutive years, finishing second in Berlin in 2023 on his marathon debut before back-to-back third place finishes at the Tokyo Marathon in 2024 and 2025. 

Also making his TCS Sydney Marathon debut is Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH), one of the most compelling marathon debutants in recent memory. The second-fastest 5,000m runner in history and the fourth-fastest half-marathoner of all time with a personal best of 57:41, Gebrhiwet is an Olympic 5,000m medallist whose transition to the marathon distance has the athletics world watching. 

The entire 2025 men's podium returns to Sydney this year, with defending champion Hailemaryam Kiros (ETH) headlining the returning contingent. Kiros claimed victory in 2025 in a time of 2:06:06, the fastest marathon ever run by a male on Australian soil. He will be joined by Addisu Gobena (ETH), who finished second in 2:06:16, and Tebello Ramakongoana (LES), who arrives in incredible form, having set a new personal best of 2:04:18 at the Boston Marathon earlier this year.

The Australian men's field is among the strongest ever assembled with Andy Buchanan (AUS), the Australian record holder, making his TCS Sydney Marathon debut. He will be joined by 2025 World Athletics Championships representatives Tim Vincent (AUS) and Liam Boudin (AUS). Homegrown Sydneysider Tom Do Canto (AUS) returns having finished second in last year's Australian Championship, while Michael Roeger (AUS), the marathon world record holder in the T46 para classification, adds another remarkable dimension to an already compelling domestic field. 

The breadth of the men's field extends well beyond the headline names, with twenty-five athletes boasting personal bests under 2:10:00, nineteen of whom have run faster than the existing course record of 2:06:06, including fourteen under 2:05:00, five under 2:04:00, with three men who have broken the 2:03:00 barrier. 

Elite Women’s Field 

Headlining the women's race is Peres Jepchirchir (KEN), the reigning World Champion, Olympic champion and one of the most decorated marathon runners of her generation. A winner of the Boston, New York and London Marathons, Jepchirchir arrives in Sydney with a personal best time of 2:14:43, the fastest in the field. 

Pushing her hardest will be Irine Cheptai (KEN), a Tokyo 2020 Olympian and 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist in the 10,000m who has made a seamless transition to the marathon. Cheptai won the 2024 Hamburg Marathon on her marathon debut before claiming third at the 2024 Chicago Marathon in a personal best of 2:17:51, announcing herself as one of the most exciting women's marathoners in the world. 

Alongside her is Magdalena Shauri (TAN), the Tanzanian record holder who placed third at the 2025 Chicago Marathon, arrives in Sydney having delivered some of the most consistent performances on the global circuit. 

Adding further weight to an already formidable field, three athletes arrive in Sydney with marathon victories already banked in 2026. Stella Chesang (UGA) claimed a commanding win at the Osaka Women's Marathon in January, becoming the first Ugandan woman to win a World Athletics Platinum Label marathon. Ruti Aga (ETH) successfully defended her Xiamen Marathon title the same month, extending a winning streak that has seen her claim multiple marathon victories across the past two years. Haven Hailu (ETH) completed the trio, winning the Seoul Marathon in March in a dominant display, crossing the line in 2:19:09 to lead an all-Ethiopian podium. 

Adding a different dimension to the women's race is Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN), one of the greatest distance runners in history. A four-time Olympic medallist and multiple World Champion, Cheruiyot demonstrated she remains a force on the roads with a fifth-place finish at the 2025 London Marathon.

The Australian women's championship will be fiercely contested, with Tokyo Olympian Ellie Pashley (AUS) and 2025 Melbourne Marathon winner Caitlin Scott (AUS) among those chasing domestic glory and a share of the richest prize purse in Australian marathon history. 

The women's field is equally formidable, with twenty-four athletes boasting personal bests under 2:26:00, twenty under 2:22:00, thirteen under 2:20:00 and nine under 2:19:00, including five women who have run faster than the existing course record of 2:18:22, and two who have broken the 2:17:00 barrier. 

Elite Women’s Wheelchair Field 

The women's wheelchair field is headlined by one of Australia's most beloved sporting icons. Madison de Rozario (AUS) returns to Sydney as a two-time TCS Sydney Marathon champion, and her appearance on home soil in 2026 carries enormous significance. The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion and two-time London Marathon winner last raced in Australia at the 2024 TCS Sydney Marathon, where she claimed victory just one week after winning silver at the Paris Paralympic Games in one of the most remarkable performances in the event's history. Her return to the Sydney Opera House finish line will be among the most anticipated moments of race day. 

Challenging de Rozario is Manuela Schar (SUI), one of the most decorated wheelchair athletes in the history of the sport. A three-time AbbottWMM Series champion, ten-time Paralympic medallist and current marathon world record holder, Schar made history by becoming the first athlete, male or female, wheelchair or able-bodied, to win all six AbbottWMM races in a single series. Having claimed victory at the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon earlier this year, Schar arrives in Sydney with the opportunity to make history once again, as the first athlete in history, across all classifications, to win all eight AbbottWMM. 

Also bringing formidable credentials to the start line is Tatyana McFadden (USA), a Paralympic legend with an extraordinary collection of Major titles across Boston, London, Chicago and New York. 

Eden Rainbow-Cooper (GBR), who claimed second place in Sydney last year in a time of 01:53:41, brings further depth to a field that also includes Tsubasa Nakamine (JPN), Michelle Wheeler (USA) and Vanessa De Sousa (BRA), who rounded out the 2025 Sydney podium in third. Eliza Stankovic-Mowle (AUS) joins de Rozario in representing Australia in what promises to be the strongest women's wheelchair field ever assembled on Australian soil. 

Elite Men’s Wheelchair Field 

David Weir (GBR), one of the most celebrated wheelchair racers in history, makes his TCS Sydney Marathon debut this year. A six-time Paralympic champion and six-time London Marathon winner, Weir's appearance in Sydney marks a landmark moment for wheelchair racing in Australia.

Among the fastest in the field is Jin Hua (CHN), a two-time Paralympic champion and three-time World Champion whose personal best of 1:18:31 marks him as one of the most dangerous contenders in the race. He will be joined by JohnBoy Smith (GBR), a two-time Commonwealth Games medallist who also finished second at the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon. One of the most remarkable stories in Paralympic sport, Smith discovered wheelchair racing at a Berlin event in 2014, eight years after being shot at the age of sixteen in an incident that left him paralysed. 

Challenging the field is Paralympic bronze medallist Tomoki Suzuki (JPN), widely regarded as one of the dominant forces in the sport today. Suzuki returns to Sydney following his second-placed finish in 2025 in a time of 01:33:29. He will be joined by compatriots Sho Watanabe (JPN) and Kota Hokinoue (JPN), making Japan one of the most formidable nations represented in the men's field. 

Daniel Romanchuk (USA), a Paralympic gold medallist and one of the most decorated wheelchair racers on the AbbottWMM circuit, brings further firepower to the field alongside two-time TCS Sydney Marathon champion Josh Cassidy (CAN). Cassidy is a three-time Paralympian who made history with his 2012 win at the Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America, clocking a blistering 1:18:25, the fastest time ever recorded at the time, and still the third fastest time in history. 

The depth of talent continues with Geert Schipper (NED), who claimed third in Sydney last year, while Jake Lappin (AUS) and Sam Rizzo (AUS) will carry the home crowd's hopes on race day. 

The TCS Sydney Marathon is supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. The event is owned by Athletics Australia and managed by Pont3. 

For more information please visit: www.tcssydneymarathon.com 

ENDS

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ABOUT TCS SYDNEY MARATHON PRESENTED BY ASICS 

The TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS is Australia’s largest marathon and is the sole remaining participant legacy of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. The TCS Sydney Marathon is supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. The event is owned by Athletics Australia and managed by Pont3. The only mass participation running event in Australia to have a four hour live broadcast each year, the TCS Sydney Marathon boasts participation from over 117 countries and has raised over $36 million for charitable organisations since its inception.

ABOUT TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES (TCS) 

Tata Consultancy Services is the technology partner of choice for industry-leading organisations worldwide. Since its inception in 1968, TCS has upheld the highest standards of innovation, engineering excellence, and customer service. 

It has set an aspiration to become the world's largest AI-led technology services company and is enabling its clients to transform themselves across the full AI stack, from infrastructure to intelligence. 

Rooted in the heritage of the Tata Group, TCS is focused on creating long term value for its clients, its investors, its employees, and the community at large. With a highly skilled workforce spread across 55 countries and 202 service delivery centres across the world, the company has been recognised as a top employer in six continents. With the ability to rapidly apply and scale new technologies, the company has built long term partnerships with its clients - helping them emerge as perpetually adaptive enterprises. Many of these relationships have endured into decades and navigated every technology cycle, from mainframes in the 1970s to artificial intelligence today. 

TCS sponsors 14 of the world’s most prestigious marathons and endurance events, including the TCS New York City Marathon, TCS London Marathon and TCS Sydney Marathon with a focus on promoting health, sustainability, and community empowerment. 

TCS generated consolidated revenues of over US $30 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025. For more information, visit www.tcs.com 

ABOUT ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS 

The Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) is a series of eight of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world - Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America, TCS London Marathon, BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, Bank of America Chicago Marathon, TCS New York City Marathon, the TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS and now the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. 

Encompassing an annual series for elite runners and elite wheelchair athletes, AbbottWMM also applauds the achievements and passion of everyday champions from around the world. AbbottWMM also operates the Abbott World Marathon Majors Marathon Tours & Travel Age Group World Rankings, offering athletes aged 40 and over the chance to compete against their peers for a place in the Abbott World Marathon Majors Marathon Tours & Travel Age Group World Championships. The 2024 Championship was held within the 2024 TCS Sydney Marathon. For more information, visit

www.worldmarathonmajors.com 

MEDIA CONTACTS: 

Sophie Walton | sophie@sydneymarathon.com | +61 404 507 975 

Hollie Hodges | hollie@sydneymarathon.com | +61 402 696 775