Three of the four course records in the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon were shattered on a spectacular day of racing blessed with equally spectacular weather, as the fastest field ever assembled for an African marathon brought world-class racing to the Mother City.
This is excellent news for the event, which is already the premier marathon in Africa and nearing the completion of phase 2 of the candidacy process to become an Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) event. This will bring Africa its first Major and put the Mother City’s marathon on the same level as marathons in New York, London, Berlin, Tokyo, and other cities, while making it one of the most sought-after global marathoning destinations.
One of the requirements for Major status is a world-class field of elite runners and wheelchair athletes, including World Athletics Platinum and Gold Label athletes, and the field assembled for the 2026 edition of the race was the fastest field ever assembled for an African marathon – and they duly delivered an impressive number of new records.
The 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon men’s podium (from left to right): Yihunilign Adane (2:04:59), Mohamed Esa (2:04:55), and Kalipus Lomwai (2:05:06). Photo by Fahwaaz Cornelius.
Enthralling, Record-Breaking Men’s Race
The elite men’s race was won by Ethiopia’s Mohamed Esa in a scintillating 2:04:55, shattering the course record of 2:08:16, set by another Ethiopian, Abdisa Tola, in 2024. Second over the line was Esa’s countryman Yihunilign Adane in 2:04:59, with Kenyan Kalipus Lomwai third in 2:05:06.
The first South African home was former three-time winner of the race, Stephen Mokoka (2:10:48 for 13th place), and he was followed home by Matlakala Bennet Seloyi with a personal best 2:12:17, and debutant Anthony Timoteus, posting a solid 2:13:04 in his first attempt at the distance. The man considered by many to be the greatest marathoner of all time, Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, was 16th home in 2:13:29.
The scintillating men’s race saw the first 10 runners all finish under the previous course record, with the top 10 including two 2:04 times, three 2:05 times, three 2:06 times and two 2:07s. Esa’s winning time is the fastest marathon ever run on African soil, beating the 2:06:32 run by Hicham Laqouahi of Morocco in his own country in 2020, and the Ethiopian’s time also becomes the new South African All-comers record.
“To be honest, I was not thinking about the course record today, because my target was to win the race in my African homeland. I would like to say thank you very much to the race organisers, for giving me a chance to come here and to race on African soil,” says Esa. “So the win was the priority, and I was not targeting the course record, but I am really happy that I could do both today. I also want to say that this course is very nice, and everyone here is very supportive of running in Africa, so I am even more proud to win this African marathon.”
Eliud Kipchoge started his marathon world tour, where he will race on every continent by running his African marathon debut at the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. Photo by Caleb Bjergfelt.
Having won the race, Esa made a point of waiting at the finish to welcome other runners in, and gave an especially warm welcome to Kipchoge. Asked about this, he says, “Eliud is my role model, and I love and respect him so much, so I was so proud to race with him and finish this race with him today on our home continent. I wanted to show the world that we are the same family of African runners.”
The men’s elite race started with two South African pacesetters leading the way – 2:09 marathoner Adam Lipschitz and SA Record-holder in the half marathon, Adriaan Wildschutt. They took a big leading pack through the halfway mark (21.1km) in 1:02:46, at fractionally under three minutes per kilometre – on course for a low 2:05 finish, well within the course record.
Lipschitz dropped out after halfway, as planned, but Wildschutt opted to stay in the race, and even surged away from the lead pack after the 30km mark, opening a lead of around 20 seconds. This prompted all watching to speculate whether he was planning to complete his first marathon, and even if he could win the race, or set a new South African record. However, his move prompted the pack to increase their speed and chase him down, and at 36km he stepped off the course.
Going into the final three kilometres, the lead pack was down to the two Ethiopians, Esa and Adane, along with Kenyans Lomwai and Leonard Langat. Esa came into the race with the fastest season best time, having run 2:04:49 in the 2025 Chicago Marathon, and he made that form count as he surged for the finish. Langat was first to drop off the pace, followed by Lomwai, and Adane held on till the last few hundred metres, but Esa proved strongest on the day.
Sanlam Cape Town Marathon Men’s Results:
- Mohamed Esa: Ethiopia (2:04:55),
- Yihunilign Adane: Ethiopia (2:04:59)
- Kalipus Lomwai: Kenya (2:05:06)
For all the results from the 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon please click here.
Women’s Champion, Dira, Keeps it in the Family
In the women’s race, Ethiopian runners made it a clean-sweep of the podium positions, with Dera Dida taking the win in 2:23:18, just under a minute outside the course record 2:22:22 set by SA’s Glenrose Xaba in the 2024 race. Dira started the race as one of the outright favourites, given that she had the fastest season best amongst the elite women after clocking 2:18:32 at the 2025 Dubai Marathon. Her victory in Cape Town seemed all the more appropriate, given that she is married to Olympic and World Champion marathoner Tamirat Tola, and her brother-in-law is Abdisa Tola, the 2024 winner of the Mother City race.
Second over the line was Mestawut Fikir in 2:23:46, with Waganesh Amare third in 2:23:57. Former women’s World Champion, 46-year-old Kenyan Edna Kiplagat, finished fifth in 2:25:44, and the first South African home was 15th-placed Mia Morrison in 2:49:52, followed by Melissa Laing (16th in 2:50:11) and Banele Mabizela (18th in 2:51:15).
Dera Dida backed up her pedigree as the form woman in the field and won the 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, but did not manage to beat Glenrose Xaba’s course record. Photo by Fahwaaz Cornelius.
A large lead pack of elite women were led through halfway by a trio of male pacesetters that included South African 10km Record-holder Maxime Chaumeton, winner of yesterday’s Cape Town 10km Peace Run. With a halfway split of 1:12:33 and a predicted finishing time of around 2:25, the course record never looked threatened, and once the pacers had stepped aside, the race initially remained a somewhat tactical affair instead of outright speed run.
A group of five was still together at the 30km mark, passed in 2:00:10, with the four Ethiopians Dida, Fikir, Amare and Gojjam Enyew joined by Kenyan Leah Cheruto, while just behind them was former World Champ Kiplagat. By the 40km mark, Dira had stretched the group out, with Fikir trailing her by eight seconds, who was a further eight seconds in front of Amare, with bigger gaps back to Cheruto, Enyew and Kiplagat. Dida kept stretching her lead, eventually winning by a clear 28 seconds, with Amare a further 11 seconds behind second-placed Fikir, while Kenyans Cheruto and Kiplagat had to be content finishing just off the podium.
“I came here to win the race – that was my goal – so around 36 kilometres, I felt very confident, that the race was mine to win,” says Dira, but admits she has unfinished business with the course record. “On Friday, I was discussing with myself to try break the course record, and I was also thinking about it while I was racing, but there was some wind, and some curves in the route that made us a little bit too slow for the course record. But I’ll be very, very happy to come back here and then to try break the course record next year!”
Asked whether she will be recommending the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon to her husband, Dida says she doesn’t need to do so. “He is 100% sure that he’s coming here next year to race the Cape Town Marathon. He raced the London Marathon this year, which was just four weeks before Cape Town, and that was the only reason he didn’t come here to race in his African homeland. But next year he’ll be here.”
Sanlam Cape Town Marathon Women’s Results:
- Dera Dida: Ethiopia (2:23:18)
- Mestawut Fikir: Ethiopia (2:23:46)
- Waganesh Amare: Ethiopia (2:23:57)
For all the results from the 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon please click here.
Ethiopians swept the 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon podium with Dera Dida (centre), Mestawut Fikir (left), and Waganesh Amare (right). Photo by Fahwaaz Cornelius.
Weit Betters Men’s Wheelchair Record
British wheelchair racing veteran David Weir dominated the men’s wheelchair race and took the win in 1:30:20, well inside the course record 1:32:09 set by Dutchman Gert Schipper in 2023. The Brit was followed in by Dutchman Jetze Plat (1:33:12), while third position ended up a dramatic tie between 2024 winner, Sho Watanabe of Japan, and Chinese athlete Zhang Ying. Both finished in 1:33:43, and the photo finish was so close that the race officials decided to give them joint third place on the podium.
Weir says the early morning humidity did cause the wheelchair racers some concern, but things turned out brilliantly. “I think everyone was a little bit worried about the humidity at the beginning,” says Weir. “I struggled a bit for the first couple of miles – with my breathing more than my grip – but then I got a second wind and felt really good. The atmosphere was just amazing with the crowd, and the weather was good as well. Cape Town is a beautiful city, and today’s race was amazing.”
Sho Watanabe and Zhang Ying were inseparable in a photo finish. Photo by Ewaldt Verster.
When asked about chasing the course record, Weir says it was not his focus, but he’s happy to put his name in the record-books. “I thought Jetze was just behind me, so I picked the pace up a little when I started to feel a bit warmed up. When I saw there was a gap, I just kept the pace up, because I was in my little zone. I didn’t plan to go for the record today, it was just one of those things.”
Schär Obliterates Women’s Wheelchair Record
The women’s wheelchair record now belongs to Switzerland’s Manuela Schär. She absolutely dominated the race to win in 1:43:25, obliterating the previous course record of 1:52:58, set by Brit Eden Rainbow-Cooper in 2023. Second-placed Chen Xiaochun (China) also finished inside the previous record, crossing the line in 1:52:21, with another Chinese athlete, Deng Yirun, taking third in 1:57:05.
“I had the best time out there today. I was a bit worried in the morning about the humidity, but it turned out to be just perfect for racing, and it’s always great to get to know a new course,” says Schär. “I didn’t really know what to expect, but I really enjoyed it, and the crowd was amazing, with a lot of dancing, singing and cheering. That really helped us… and then the view, I mean, you have the ocean and you have Table Mountain. It was just beautiful.”
Manuela Schär raced to a new Wheelchair Course Record, setting a new benchmark time of 1:52:58. Photo by Fahwaaz Cornelius.
“I’ve done all the Majors around the world, and this is definitely one of my favourites. I mean, I already knew that I love the city, because I spent some time here a few years ago, and I really enjoyed it back then, so coming back here to race was just a dream come true. And I hope I’ll be back next year,” adds Schär.
South African spirit carried the day at the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. Photo by James Heron.
Success on the Roads
The race also featured its biggest international contingent to date, with some 8,500 international entries, including participants in the 2026 Abbott World Marathon Majors Marathon Tours and Travel Age Group World Championships. This saw 1,850 of the best age group marathoners from around the world competing for global titles in five-year age categories from 40 to over 80 years.
“And that’s a wrap for the 2026 edition for the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, a very important one for us in that we were coming off an event that was cancelled in 2025. I think it was really great to bounce back with an event on a perfect day, with great organisation, and an incredible elite result, with so many new records,” says Clark Gardner, CEO of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon.
“It was not a perfect event, and we’ve already learnt some valuable lessons, but overall, we’re super proud that we have so many happy participants and supporters. That includes all our international participants, and the overall feedback from them has been impressive – they love Cape Town, they love South Africa, they love a marathon in Africa – so we can be super chuffed as a team about the delivery of this event. Now we look forward to just soaking it all in and, and seeing what that means for us in two to three weeks’ time,” adds Gardner.
Running towards Africa’s first Major. Photo by Caleb Bjergfelt.
He is referring to the imminent announcement whether the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon has now successfully completed the candidacy process for AWMM status. Things are looking good for the race, as Dawna Stone, CEO of Abbott World Marathon Majors, says she and her team of assessors are really impressed by the latest edition of the race. “It was incredible to see the hard work of the Cape Town team come together on a spectacular day in this beautiful city. Congratulations to Clark and his staff and all the runners who played their part in a special event. Our evaluation team now have everything they need to complete their work and we are excited to see the outcome very soon.”
More High Praise
The stacked men’s elite field included Eliud Kipchoge, the former two-time World Record-holder, two-time Olympic Marathon Champion and winner of 11 Majors. He chose Cape Town as his first official marathon race on African soil, and the first stop for his Eliud’s Running World tour, which will see him tackle a series of seven marathons across all the continents over the next two years, to inspire people to lead healthier lives while uniting the world through running.
Today he finished 16th in 2:13:29, being greeted by adoring fans from start to finish of his run, and he has nothing but praise for the event. “I have run all the Majors in the world, but 24 May 2026 is the day that I believe the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon will become an Abbott World Marathon Majors event. I believe that all one billion Africans should be proud of this race, and that we are creating a real legacy for Africa by making the Cape Town Marathon a World Major,” says Kipchoge.
Photo by James Heron.
My highlight today was all those people on the road who were singing for all of us runners, for the whole day, giving us support and morale. Those are the real heroes of the Cape Town Marathon. They were singing for the whole of Africa, and those were the people that really touched my heart. All the spectators and fans were wonderful, uniting as Africans, and I feel I am leaving a part of myself here in Cape Town,” adds Kipchoge.
Biggest, Best Edition
While the elites were focused on records, podiums and prize money, the biggest ever field for the race enjoyed a stunning day on the roads of the Mother City, with thousands celebrating new personal bests or successful marathon debuts on the fast and flat runner-friendly route, lined by thousands of enthusiastic spectators. Title sponsor Sanlam was equally effusive about the success of the day, and all the satisfied, happy runners.
Photo time. Photo by James Heron.
“Congratulations to every runner who made this year’s Sanlam Cape Town Marathon such a memorable and inspiring event,” says Shadi Chauke, Group Executive for Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Sanlam. “We are proud to support an event that continues to grow in meaning and impact, not only celebrating performance, but also creating a platform that positions Africa on the global stage, while shining a light on the incredible talent we have here at home. The discipline, resilience and consistency we see across the field are the same qualities that underpin our purpose of empowering people to live with confidence.”
“What stands out most is the way this event brings people together. From runners and supporters, to clubs and race partners, it is the strength of this wider community that gives the marathon its meaning. It is clear that no one is part of this journey alone, and that is what makes African Champions Unite more than a message. It is something we see come to life year after year, as we build on this momentum and head into the next phase of this marathon together,” adds Chauke.
