Collins Kemboi at last year's Geneva marathon. /FILE
Collins Kemboi successfully defended his Geneva Marathon crown in Switzerland on Sunday, spearheading a dominant Kenyan 1-5 sweep in the men’s race.
Kemboi surged to slice through the tape in 2:08:52, holding off compatriot Silas Too who timed 2:09:16 for second place as Simion Tarus completed the all-Kenyan podium in 2:09:53.
Vincent Kiprono sealed fourth place in 2:11:49 while Mark Kiptoo rounded off Kenya’s remarkable clean sweep of the top five positions after stopping the clock at 2:12:20. Edwin Koech also added to the Kenyan charge, finishing seventh in 2:17:52.
Kemboi’s successful title defence came exactly a year after he first conquered Geneva, where he captured the 2025 crown in 2:11:37 ahead of Elvis Cheboi (2:12:16) and Martin Cheruiyot (2:16:31).
The 29-year-old has steadily carved out a growing reputation in the marathon ranks since stepping up to the 42km distance in 2024. Kemboi announced his arrival on the marathon scene with a winning debut in Munster, Germany, where he also marshalled Kenya to a commanding top-four sweep.
He produced 2:10:52 on debut as Barnabas Kipyego (2:14:48), Martin Cheruiyot (2:15:48) and Erick Ndiema (2:16:02) completed the Kenyan dominance in second through fourth places. His second outing over the distance came at the Guadalajara Marathon in Mexico, where he narrowly missed the podium after clocking 2:19:47 for fifth place.
That race was won by Kenya’s John Kimaiyo in 2:14:22 ahead of Morocco’s El Mahjoub Dazza (2:16:02) and Uganda’s Ben Somikwo (2:18:07).
Kemboi’s third marathon appearance proved to be the breakthrough moment where he claimed the Geneva crown in 2025 for the first time before successfully defending it on Sunday in his fourth outing in the marathon.
Meanwhile, runner-up Too was fresh from another impressive second-place finish at the Hong Kong Marathon on January 18. The Kenyan clocked 2:09:56 in Hong Kong, finishing behind Ethiopian Melaku Belachew, who triumphed in 2:09:39.
Tarus, on the other hand, was making his first road appearance of the 2026 season after winding up his 2025 campaign with a fifth-place finish at the Porto Marathon, where he timed 2:15:50.
In the women’s race, Patience Kimutai powered to victory in 2:30:45 ahead of Swiss athlete Fabienne Schlumpf, who settled for second in 2:31:15, while Kenya’s Jackline Chepkoech completed the podium in 2:31:18.
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