Amsterdam Marathon: Ethiopian Buze Diriba smashes course record in 2:16:12

Ethiopian Buze Diriba won the Amsterdam Marathon on Sunday, October 18, 2026, in 2:16:12, shattering the course record and, according to World Athletics, the fastest time ever recorded in the Netherlands, surpassing the 2:16:52 set by her compatriot Yalemzerf Yehualaw in 2024. At 32, she enters the list of the sixteen best performers in the history of the distance.

The Ethiopian's race was decided in the second half. Passing the half-marathon mark in 1:08:34 and the 30-kilometer mark in 1:37:23, she accelerated just as the lead group broke apart, held a half-minute lead at the 40-kilometer mark, and crossed the finish line at the Olympic Stadium with nearly a minute to spare, reports World Athletics.

One figure illustrates the scale of the leap: her previous personal best was 2:19:34, run in Frankfurt in October 2025. She therefore shaved more than three minutes off her own benchmark.

An all-Ethiopian women's podium

Behind her, Ethiopia locked out the podium: defending champion Aynalem Desta took second place in 2:17:06, and Meseret Belete took third in 2:18:06. Both also improved their personal best times. Tiringo Mulu (2:20:36) and Mestawut Fikir (2:21:32) rounded out a top five in which Ethiopia placed five runners.

Berhanu wins within three seconds of the record

In the men's race, Lemi Berhanu won in 2:03:33, just three seconds off the course record held since 2025 by Kenyan Geofry Kipchumba. The defending Kenyan champion dropped out shortly after the halfway point, according to World Athletics.

Berhanu built his victory on a second half faster than the first: 1:02:24 at the half-marathon, 1:28:48 at the 30-kilometer mark, followed by a finish that allowed him to beat Kenyan Nicholas Kipkorir (2:03:39) by six seconds—a personal best for his second marathon only—and Patrick Mosin (2:03:58) by 25 seconds, also a personal best.

The density of the race will go down in the annals: the first eight finishers all came in under 2:05, which has only happened three times in the history of the marathon, according to World Athletics. Among them was Kenyan Isaia Kipkoech Lasoi, who finished eighth in 2:04:57 in his very first marathon.

An autumn Sunday in Amsterdam, and the same observation as at the other major marathons of the season: on the roads of the world, the hierarchy of long-distance running continues to be written in Ethiopia and Kenya, by athletes trained on the continent's high plateaus.