Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s Alphonce Simbu narrowly missed a podium finish at the TCS Sydney Marathon on August 30, 2026 after being edged into fourth place by Lesotho’s Tebello Ramakongoana, despite both runners recording exactly the same time of 2:04:57.
Simbu and Ramakongoana were locked in a fierce battle for third place in the closing stages of the 42.195-kilometre race, with neither able to establish a clear advantage on the clock.
However, Ramakongoana crossed the finish line fractionally ahead of Simbu to claim third place, leaving the Tanzanian to settle for fourth. Official results rank athletes according to their finishing order when they record the same time.
Despite missing the podium, Simbu produced an impressive performance, finishing inside the previous Sydney Marathon course record of 2:06:06. His 2:04:57 was also just 15 seconds behind winner Addisu Gobena of Ethiopia.
Gobena, 21, produced a stunning late surge to win in a course-record 2:04:42, improving the previous mark by one minute and 24 seconds. His compatriot Chimdessa Debele finished second in 2:04:46, while Ramakongoana took third in 2:04:57.
The men’s race remained tightly contested deep into the final kilometres, with seven athletes still in contention for the leading positions approaching the finish. Gobena and Debele eventually broke away before Ramakongoana and Simbu fought it out for third.
For Simbu, the result represents another strong performance on the Abbott World Marathon Majors circuit. The Tanzanian entered Sydney as the reigning world champion and one of the leading contenders after setting a personal best of 2:02:47. His fourth-place finish further underlines his ability to compete with the world’s leading marathoners, although the narrow defeat to Ramakongoana denied him a place on the podium by the smallest of margins.
In the women’s race, Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir claimed victory in 2:18:31, finishing ahead of compatriot Irine Cheptai, who clocked 2:22:11. Ethiopia’s Shure Demise was third in 2:22:33.
Tanzanian Magdalena Shauri was also among the elite women’s field but did not finish on the podium.
