Peres Jepchirchir at the Tokyo World Championships/ FILE
World marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir will launch her 2026 campaign at the Sydney Marathon on August 30, spearheading a formidable Kenyan challenge.
Jepchirchir has yet to race this season after an injury forced her to withdraw from the London Marathon on April 26.
Now fully recovered, Jepchirchir will look to extend the road dominance she established during a stellar 2025 campaign. Race organisers have hailed her presence as a major boost, noting that she headlines the strongest women’s marathon field ever assembled on Australian soil.
Jepchirchir made just two appearances over the classic distance last year, delivering memorable performances in both. Her first outing was at the World Championships in Tokyo in September, where she stormed to the title in 2:24:43 after a thrilling duel with Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa, who took silver in 2:24:45.
Uruguay’s Julia Paternain completed that podium in 2:27:43. Jepchirchir rounded off her season with a runner-up finish at the Valencia Marathon, clocking 2:14:43 behind compatriot Joyciline Jepkosgei (2:14:00), with Belgium’s Chloe Herbiet finishing third in 2:20:38.
Making her Sydney Marathon debut, Jepchirchir arrives with one of the most decorated resumes in women’s road running.
Her honours include Olympic gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games, where she clocked 2:27:20 to finish ahead of compatriot Brigid Kosgei (2:27:36) and American Molly Seidel (2:27:46).
She has also conquered three World Marathon Majors, winning New York in 2021 (2:22:39), Boston in 2022 (2:21:01), and London in 2024 (2:16:16).
Additionally, she finished third at the 2023 London Marathon in 2:18:38, narrowly missing out to the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan (2:18:33) and Ethiopia’s Alemu Megertu (2:18:37). Beyond the full marathon, Jepchirchir captured an unprecedented hat-trick of World Half Marathon Championships titles, winning in Cardiff in 2016 (1:07:31), Gdynia in 2020 (1:05:16), and Riga in 2023 (1:07:25).
In Sydney, Jepchirchir will be joined by Vivian Cheruiyot, one of Kenya’s most decorated track and road athletes. Cheruiyot’s illustrious career features Olympic 5,000m gold from Rio 2016, silver medals in the 5,000m (London 2012) and 10,000m (Rio 2016), and a 10,000m bronze from London 2012.
She is also a four-time world champion, having won the 5,000m in Beijing 2009, completed the 5,000m/10,000m double in Daegu 2011, and reclaimed the 10,000m crown in Beijing 2015. On the roads, Cheruiyot boasts a victory at the 2018 London Marathon, runner-up finishes in New York (2018) and London (2019), and a third-place finish at the 2024 New York Marathon.
Also in the Kenyan contingent is 2022 Commonwealth Games 10,000m silver medallist Irine Cheptai. Cheptai opened her season with a commanding victory at the Burj2Burj Half Marathon on February 8, shattering the course record in 1:06:57. In her second outing of the year at the Boston Marathon, she narrowly missed the podium, placing sixth in 2:20:54.
Kenya’s challenge will be further strengthened by Sharon Chelimo, Joyce Tele, Jackline Cherono, and Priscah Cherono, giving the nation enviable depth as it targets glory on the streets of Sydney.
