Kenyan runner Bernard Koech will be a star attraction at the 40th edition of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg scheduled for April 26, 2026, as he returns to the German city where he won the 42km race in both 2023 and 2024.

Koech set the Hamburg Marathon course record as well as his personal best during his 2023 victory, a mark that still stands, and he has expressed strong determination to return and challenge for the title once again.

“Everything is perfect here,” said the 37-year-old Koech. He will line up alongside Germany’s Samuel Fitwi Sibhatu, 30, who has rapidly risen to become one of Europe’s top marathon runners. After making his marathon debut in Seville in 2023, Sibhatu clocked 2:08:28 in Berlin before improving to 2:04:56 in Valencia in 2024. Race director Frank Thaleiser said yesterday that more elite athletes will be announced soon.

Meanwhile, the Nagoya Women’s Marathon is expected to feature a strong international field, including Kenyans Sheila Chepkirui (2:17:29) and Selly Kaptich (2:20:03) on March 8. They will face Ethiopia’s Aynalem Desta (2:17:37), Bahrain’s Eunice Chumba (2:20:02), Spain’s Majida Maayouf (2:21:01) and Japan’s Yuka Ando (2:21:18), setting the stage for a highly competitive contest among experienced marathoners.

Elsewhere, more than 41,000 runners from 34 countries are set to participate in the 25th Daegu Marathon on March 22. About 150 elite athletes from 15 nations will compete in South Korea’s biggest marathon, with organisers increasing the winner’s prize money from USD160,000 to USD200,000.

In the men’s race, defending champion Gabriel Geay of Tanzania is targeting a sub-2:04 finish against Ethiopia’s Chimdesa Debele Gudeta, who has a personal best of 2:04:44. The women’s field includes defending champion Meseret Belete, Ethiopia’s Dera Dida Yami (2:18:32) and Kenya’s Lilian Kasait Rengeruk. Home hopes rest on Jeon Su-hwan and Choi Jung-yoon, as organisers prepare 1,300 officials alongside enhanced medical and security measures to manage the large turnout.