Kenyan marathon great Eliud Kipchoge finished 12th in the second stop of his World Tour at the NB 42K Porto Alegre 2026 Marathon in Brazil on Sunday, 12 July.
Kipchoge, 41, crossed the finish line at the rainy course in a time of 2:18.39, eventually falling way short of his previous time in Brazil 10 years ago, when he ran 2:08.44 to clinch his first Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro.
Running for the second time this year – following his 16th-place finish at the Cape Town City Marathon on 24 May – Kipchoge was inside 2:09 to 2:10 marathon pace inside the first 20 kilometres, but faded off in the second half of the race, run on a flat course, to finish almost 10 minutes behind race winner Zineddine Ouria, who took the elite race in 2:08.49.On a personal note for the two-time Olympic champion, however, Kipchoge was, for the second time in a marathon, joined by his wife, Grace Sugut, who again fought bravely to cross the finish line in a time of 4:26.25.
Earlier in Cape Town, Sugut was also present as Kipchoge kickstarted his personal initiative dubbed ‘Eliud Kipchoge World Tour’, which intends to see him race seven marathons across all the seven continents over the next two years, with a bigger goal to support educational and environmental causes worldwide.
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With the second box ticked, the first man to run a marathon under two hours will now embark on a trip down south to Australia, where he will take part in the Nike Melbourne Marathon on Sunday, 11 October, to mark the Oceania leg.
Meanwhile, on top of the leaderboard in Brazil was Kenyan representation, with compatriot Thomas Maru coming third in the men’s elite race, in a time of 2:09.13. The highest-placed Kenyan in the women’s elite race was Caroline Kilel, who finished fourth in 2:35.14. With Ouria smashing his personal best by winning the men’s race, Morocco was treated to a rare marathon double-victory, as Kaoutar Kahhaz took the win in the women’s event, clocking 2:32.58.