On the morning of 31/8 in Australia, under mild but cool sunny conditions, Kipchoge maintained a steady pace, crossing the finish line against the backdrop of the Sydney Opera House. As he finished, the greatest marathoner in history smiled and congratulated the runners who had finished ahead of him.

Eliud Kipchoge competing in the 2025 Sydney Marathon on 31/8. Photo: *The Guardian*

Kipchoge's 9th place finish in the 2025 Sydney Marathon marks an encouraging comeback after a challenging 2024. He placed 10th in the Tokyo Marathon and withdrew from the Paris Olympics due to a hip injury.

In 4/2025, the 40-year-old runner finished the London Marathon with a time of 2 hours 5 minutes 25 seconds. In this race, Kipchoge fell behind after about 90 minutes but maintained good pace control.

Kipchoge and Sifan Hassan (in the women's division) were the main attractions at this year's Sydney Marathon, as the event was elevated to World Marathon Major status for the first time. The race began at 6:30 a.m. Canberra time, with temperatures ranging from 7 to 10 degrees Celsius.

During the first half of the race, Kipchoge ran comfortably in the second group of about 15 runners behind the pacers, completing the first half (21.0975 km) in 1 hour 3 minutes 45 seconds.

When the pacers left the course at the 30 km mark, a group of seven runners broke away, while Kipchoge deliberately stayed in the chasing pack. By the 35 km mark, the Kenyan runner was 12 seconds behind the leading group.

At the 40 km mark, two Ethiopian runners, Hailemaryam Kiros and Addisu Gobena, were tied at 1 hour 59 minutes 56 seconds. Less than 1 km later, Kiros surged ahead, leaving his compatriot behind and finishing with a time of 2 hours 6 minutes 6 seconds, breaking the course record. Gobena finished second with 2 hours 6 minutes 16 seconds, and Tebello Ramakongoana (Lesotho) finished third with 2 hours 6 minutes 47 seconds.

Hailemaryam Kiros wins the 2025 Sydney Marathon. Photo: *Reuters*

Sydney 2025 is Kipchoge’s 23rd marathon in a career spanning 13 years since his debut at the 2013 Berlin Marathon.

Kipchoge is widely considered the greatest marathoner of all time, constantly pushing his limits. He twice broke the world record, clocking 2 hours 1 minute 39 seconds at the 2018 Berlin Marathon and then 2 hours 1 minute 9 seconds at the same event in 2022, before his compatriot Kelvin Kiptum surpassed him with a time of 2 hours 0 minutes 35 seconds at the 2023 Chicago Marathon.

Kipchoge is a four-time London Marathon champion (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019), a four-time Berlin Marathon winner (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023), and has also won the Chicago (2014) and Tokyo (2021) marathons. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, winning in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

Kipchoge was also the first athlete to run a sub-2-hour marathon, achieving a time of 1 hour 59 minutes 40 seconds in the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria, in 10/2019. However, this achievement was not recognized as an official world record by World Athletics because the runner, born in 1984, competed under controlled conditions, including no competitors and a rotating team of pacers.

Hong Duy