Records Galore as Sanlam Cape Town Marathon Becomes Africa’s Fastest

Cape Town, South Africa – 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 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.

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 13^th 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 16^th 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.”

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.

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 15^th-placed Mia Morrison in 2:49:52, followed by Melissa Laing (16^th in 2:50:11) and Banele Mabizela (18^th in 2:51:15).

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.”

WEIR 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.”

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.”

“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.

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