Kenya’s Philimon Kipchumba won the Istanbul Marathon on Sunday, 1 November, breaking a men’s course record that had stood since 2019. Ethiopia’s Kasanesh Baze won the women’s race, with Ethiopian runners occupying all three podium positions. The results extend East African success at a major international road race, without constituting a world-record announcement.
A RaceNewsService report published on 2 November lists Kipchumba’s winning time as 2 hours, 8 minutes and 45 seconds, compared with Daniel Kibet’s previous course record of 2:09:44. That is an improvement of 59 seconds on the release’s figures. Anadolu independently confirmed the winner and course record, although its report gave the time as 2:08:44.
The late stages changed the men’s race. Shadrack Kenduiywo had built a substantial advantage but slowed before the finish. Kipchumba moved ahead with less than two kilometres remaining. Ethiopia’s Sufaro Woliyi finished second and Kenya’s Vincent Ronoh third. The race release gives their times as 2:08:55 and 2:08:58 respectively, a close contest behind the winner.
Baze’s victory completed an Ethiopian sweep of the women’s podium, ahead of Azmera Abreha and Diribe Alemu. The race release lists their times as 2:24:41, 2:24:48 and 2:25:01. Anadolu also identifies the same three women in that finishing order. Their achievement is a confirmed race result, rather than a prediction of what they might do at another competition.
The 48th edition was organised by Spor Istanbul, part of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. The 42.195-kilometre route started on the Asian side of the city near the July 15 Martyrs Bridge and finished at Sultanahmet Square. These details matter when reading a course record: the benchmark belongs to that particular race route and its history, not every marathon course worldwide.
What it means for you. Nigerian runners and supporters can celebrate the Kenyan and Ethiopian results while keeping the scale of the achievement clear. “Course record” and “world record” are different claims. This report uses the race release’s times and flags the one-second difference in the Anadolu account; it does not present a new global record or turn a runner’s future ambitions into completed performances.