Eliud Kipchoge speaks after emerging 9th at Sydney marathon

By Newsflash Repoter

Marathon icon Eliud Kipchoge admitted he has “nothing left to prove” after finishing ninth in the Sydney Marathon on Saturday, August 30, 2025. At 40 years old, the two-time Olympic champion was the star attraction in the race, but the performance highlighted that his dominant years on the professional circuit may be behind him.

The men’s title was claimed by Ethiopia’s Hailemaryam Kiros, 28, who stormed to victory in a course record of 2:06:06. The win marked Kiros’s first triumph at a major marathon, following strong but lower finishes in Tokyo and Berlin earlier in the year. Kipchoge, meanwhile, crossed the line in 2:08:31 — still a respectable time but not one to threaten the leaders.

Speaking after the race, Kipchoge expressed gratitude simply for being able to complete his 23rd marathon. “I’m happy to go across the finish line. I have nothing to prove. My mission is to bring all the people together,” he said, calling on fans and fellow athletes to surpass 55,000 participants in next year’s Sydney Marathon.

Focus Shifts to Legacy and Inspiration

Kipchoge stressed that his participation in Sydney was less about competition and more about inspiring a culture of running in Australia. “It’s a beautiful course. It’s a course for which there is no other in this world. It was not my day today. Above all, I have crossed the finish line to empower the people of Australia. To make Australia a running nation,” he added.

This latest outing followed a sixth-place finish at the London Marathon in April, where he hinted that he was preparing to step away from professional racing. “I think I’ll be going around the world to run in big city marathons for a cause: for education and for conservation,” he revealed at the time, while suggesting he still had one more year of competition left.

Kipchoge’s career remains unparalleled in modern athletics. He has won the Berlin Marathon five times and the London Marathon four times, including a world record run of 2:01:09 in Berlin, which still stands as the second-fastest official marathon time. His greatest milestone came in Vienna in 2019, when he became the only human to run 42 kilometers in under two hours, clocking 1:59:40 in a special event.

Women’s Race and Looking Ahead

The women’s marathon in Sydney also delivered high drama as Ethiopia-born Dutch runner Sifan Hassan defeated world record holder Brigid Kosgei. Hassan crossed the finish line in a course record 2:18:22, her fourth victory in just six career marathons. For much of the race, Hassan and Kosgei ran shoulder-to-shoulder before Hassan surged after the 35-kilometre mark to secure the win.

For Kipchoge, Sydney may have been his last appearance on the professional stage, though he has not made a formal retirement announcement. If he does step back, his focus will shift to global causes and inspiring future generations rather than chasing podium finishes.

Despite finishing outside the top five, Kipchoge’s participation in Sydney was still hailed as significant. Fans and athletes alike continue to view him as the greatest marathoner of all time, a man who redefined human limits in distance running.

As the curtain slowly falls on his storied career, Kipchoge leaves behind a legacy not just of titles and records, but of discipline, humility, and an enduring belief that “no human is limited.” Whether his next chapter involves advocacy, mentorship, or symbolic runs for global causes, his influence on the world of athletics is set to endure far beyond the finish line.