Reviewed by Richard KimaroTanzania sports betting writer
Published 4 September 2026
Alphonce Simbu finished fourth at the Sydney Marathon in 2:04:57, fifteen seconds behind Addisu Gobena of Ethiopia, who won in 2:04:42 and took the course record.
Gobena’s time cut the course record from 2:06:06, an improvement of one minute and twenty four seconds. Tebello Ramakongoana of Lesotho was third in 2:04:57, the same time as Simbu, with the Tanzanian placed fourth on the finish order.
A fast race and a close finish
The front of the men’s field stayed together deep into the race. First and fourth were separated by fifteen seconds, which is a narrow spread over the marathon distance and unusual outside the very fastest city courses.
Simbu went to Sydney as the reigning world marathon champion, and World Athletics billed him and Peres Jepchirchir as the two headline names in the elite fields. He came away without the win and with a time that says the form is intact.
Four men finished inside two hours and five minutes. That is the clearest measure of how the race was run, and it is why a time that would have won most previous editions of this marathon was only good enough for fourth.
The women’s race
Jepchirchir won it in 2:18:31. Irine Cheptai was second in 2:22:11 and Shure Demise of Ethiopia third in 2:22:33, so the Kenyan pair finished more than three minutes clear of the rest.
For Tanzanian athletics the marathon remains the event that carries the country at global level, and Simbu is the reason. A fourth place in a race won in 2:04:42 is a better result than the placing suggests.
Where to bet: marathon majors are the one part of Tanzanian athletics the books price properly. Betway and SportPesa, both licensed by the Gaming Board of Tanzania, offer outright winner and head to head markets in Tanzanian shillings with mobile money deposits. Those prices move whenever an elite field is confirmed or an entry is withdrawn, so compare the two books rather than carrying a number from earlier in the week. Our guide to the best betting sites in Tanzania covers licensing and withdrawal times, and there is more in Tanzania athletics news from AXN Sports. 18+. Gamble responsibly.
