Beijing Marathon: Tola breaks Kenyan Kisorio's course record in 2:03:10; Chinese women second and third

Ethiopia's Tamirat Tola won the Beijing Marathon on 18 October 2026 in 2:03:10, breaking the course record of 2:07:06 set by Kenya's Mathew Kisorio in 2019. In the women's race, China's Cirencuomu and Lu Ying finished second and third, both in personal bests.

Ethiopians took the first three men's places. Muktar Edris was second in 2:04:34 and Adane Kebede Gebre third in 2:05:10. China News Service and the Global Times said Tola's time was the fastest marathon ever run in China. The previous fastest was 2:05:35, set by Kenya's Philimon Kiptoo Kipchumba at the Shanghai Marathon in November 2023.

The race, held together with China's National Marathon Championships, started at 7:30am on the east side of Tiananmen Square and finished, after 42.195km, on the landscape avenue in the central area of the Olympic Park. The field was 32,000 runners, from more than 265,000 who applied. First held in 1981, the Beijing Marathon is the oldest marathon in mainland China.

Tola won the 2022 world title in Oregon in 2:05:36, a championship record, and the Paris 2024 Olympic marathon in 2:06:26, an Olympic record. His personal best of 2:02:59 came when he finished fifth at the London Marathon on 26 April 2026.

Kisorio set the old record on 3 November 2019, when the 30-year-old ran alone over the last 10 kilometres and cut 10 seconds off the 2:07:16 mark set in 2013.

Ethiopia's Anchinalu Dessie Genaneh won the women's race in 2:20:36 to retain her title. She won the 2025 race, on 2 November, in 2:26:08.

Cirencuomu ran 2:23:48 and Lu Ying 2:24:24. The two also took first and second in the women's national championship, with Xia Yuyu third. The men's national title went to Chen Tianyu, ahead of Jiang Fakun and Xie Yunce. Chen won the Beijing Marathon's domestic men's title in 2023 and 2024.

Kenya's Sabastian Sawe, who won the London Marathon on 26 April in 1:59:30 to become the first man to run an official marathon in under two hours, was a guest at the men's prize-giving and posed with the three Ethiopian medallists. During the race weekend he visited Peking University. His advice to young runners starting out, as quoted by the Global Times: "Stay passionate, be patient and remain disciplined."