Lisbon Marathon: Ugandan Martin Musau wins in 2:08:07, top 19 finishers are African
Ugandan Martin Naibei Musau won the EDP Lisbon Marathon on October 10, 2026, in 2:08:07, according to results published by Watch Athletics. He finished ahead of two Kenyans, Gilbert Kipkurui Korir (2:08:33) and Stephen Chebon Kipkech (2:08:35), at the end of a tight race: twenty-eight seconds separated the top three.
For Musau, this is a personal best. He improved by 35 seconds on his previous benchmark of 2:08:42, set in Hamburg in April 2024, notes World-Track, which indicates that his two Kenyan pursuers also broke their own records.
An Ethiopian podium sweep for women
In the women's race, Ethiopian Meskerem Mamo Hayile won in 2:28:04 in her very first marathon, reports World-Track. Her compatriots Tejitu Siyum Alamayehu (2:28:11) and Bashanke Imoshe Bilo (2:28:15) completed the podium: eleven seconds separated the top three.
The Ethiopian dominance went further. According to the results from Watch Athletics, Sintayehu Tilahun Getahun (2:28:19) and Abebech Afework Bekele (2:29:00) took fourth and fifth place, ahead of Kenyans Ruth Chebitok (2:29:18) and Ruth Chepkoech (2:32:41).
Ten men, nine women: no non-Africans in the published rankings
The most telling detail is the ranking itself. In the top ten men's places published by Watch Athletics, there is one Ugandan, five Kenyans, and four Ethiopians. Among the women, the top nine finishers are divided between seven Ethiopians and two Kenyans. No athlete from another continent appears.
This is not a scheduling coincidence. In the major European autumn classics, elite fields are built around the same Kenyan valleys and Ethiopian camps, where hundreds of runners train for a handful of bibs. Lisbon, with its false flats and bridges, is not a world-record course: it is a marathon where runners come to seek a time that opens other doors. Three personal bests among the men and a winner who was discovering the distance speak volumes about the depth of the talent pool.
The same weekend, the spotlight moved to Chicago, where Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo defended his title on October 11, 2026. African athletics will play a leading role there; in Lisbon, it held every single one.
This article was written in French with the help of artificial intelligence from the sources cited below, then translated from French automatically. Read the original.
