Eliud Kipchoge to compete in Cape Town push race for Abbott status

Double Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge has confirmed his participation in the 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, May 24, with the aim of using his star power to help convince the Abbott World Marathon Majors to include the race as the first African marathon in the prestigious world major series.

Kipchoge, who is already in South Africa, hopes to push the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon to global status and persuade organizers to include it in the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a premier circuit consisting of seven of the world’s biggest and most prestigious marathons: Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, London Marathon, Sydney Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon and the New York City Marathon.

“We don’t have a major marathon in Africa and Cape Town has now given us the opportunity to have one,” Kipchoge said during a press briefing in Cape Town.

“If we can have 60,000 participants or more here for this race, then we have all it takes to convince the organizers that this one should be included in the World Marathon Majors. If that happens, it will be the first race in Africa and we will be proud to have one,” added an optimistic Kipchoge.

Kipchoge, now 41, won his two Olympic gold medals in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 with a time of 2:08:44 and in Tokyo in 2020 after clocking 2:08:38. He remains the most decorated athlete on the Abbott World Marathon Majors circuit with 11 victories.

The marathon legend is also using Cape Town as a launch pad in his quest to race across all seven continents over the next two years, using the journey to inspire people to embrace healthier lifestyles while celebrating the universal appeal of distance running.

Kipchoge has dominated the Berlin Marathon, winning five titles in 2015 (2:04:00), 2017 (2:03:32), 2018 (2:01:39), 2022 (2:01:09) and 2023 (2:02:42). He also finished runner-up in 2024 with a time of 2:03:23. During his Berlin triumphs, he broke the marathon world record twice — first with 2:01:39 in 2018 and later 2:01:09 in 2022.

Those records were later surpassed by the late Kelvin Kiptum, who ran 2:00:35 at the Chicago Marathon in 2023, before Sebastian Sawe lowered the mark further with 1:59:40 at the London Marathon in 2026.

Kipchoge’s glittering résumé also includes four titles at the London Marathon in 2015 (2:04:42), 2016 (2:03:05), 2018 (2:04:17) and 2019 (2:02:37), victory at the Chicago Marathon in 2014 (2:04:11), and another triumph at the Tokyo Marathon in 2021 (2:02:40).

To further the push for Cape Town’s inclusion in the World Marathon Majors, Kipchoge will be joined on Sunday by 2024 Daegu Marathon champion Stephen Kiprop, Paris Marathon winner Bernard Biwott, 2023 World Championships silver medallist Maru Teferi and veteran star Edna Kiplagat, who at 46 continues to bring her aura of excellence and longevity to the sport.