People

Greatest Marathon Runners

17rows
6columns
39views
0downloads
Source:Community curated
Updated:4/9/2026
17/17
Name
Country
Years Active
Marathon PB
Major Wins
Known For
Eliud Kipchoge
Kenya2002-present2:01:0911Two-time Olympic marathon champion, first human to run a sub-2-hour marathon (unofficial, INEOS 1:59)
Kelvin Kiptum
Kenya2018-20242:00:353World marathon record holder (Chicago 2023), died in a car crash at age 24 in 2024
Paula Radcliffe
United Kingdom1992-20152:15:257Women's marathon world record holder from 2003 to 2019, three London and three New York titles
Haile Gebrselassie
Ethiopia1992-20152:03:594Two-time Olympic 10,000m champion, four-time Berlin Marathon winner, former marathon world record holder
Kenenisa Bekele
Ethiopia2001-present2:01:414Three-time Olympic track champion, Berlin Marathon winner two seconds off world record in 2019
Abebe Bikila
Ethiopia1956-19692:12:122Won Rome 1960 Olympic marathon barefoot, first African Olympic gold medalist, repeated in Tokyo 1964
Brigid Kosgei
Kenya2015-present2:14:044Broke Radcliffe's long-standing women's marathon world record in Chicago 2019
Mary Keitany
Kenya2006-20222:17:017Four-time New York City and three-time London Marathon champion, women's only marathon record holder
Catherine Ndereba
Kenya1992-20112:18:476Two-time world marathon champion and four-time Boston Marathon winner, Catherine the Great
Tegla Loroupe
Kenya1989-20102:20:435First African woman to win a major marathon (NYC 1994), former women's marathon world record holder
Wilson Kipsang
Kenya2005-20192:03:134Former marathon world record holder, winner of London, Berlin, New York and Tokyo Marathons
Dennis Kimetto
Kenya2011-20182:02:573First man under 2:03 in the marathon (Berlin 2014), world record holder until 2018
Khalid Khannouchi
Morocco/United States1993-20082:05:384Two-time marathon world record holder, four-time Chicago Marathon champion
Naoko Takahashi
Japan1992-20082:19:4622000 Sydney Olympic marathon champion, first woman under 2:20 in the marathon
Tirunesh Dibaba
Ethiopia2001-20192:17:561Three-time Olympic track champion who made a successful transition to marathon with London win in 2017
Stefano Baldini
Italy1991-20112:07:2212004 Athens Olympic marathon champion on the original Marathon to Athens course
Frank Shorter
United States1969-19842:10:3011972 Olympic marathon champion, sparked the American running boom of the 1970s

Free to explore · No signup needed

Frequently asked questions

How is the Greatest Marathon Runners list ranked?

The Greatest Marathon Runners list is currently sorted by the source data's default ordering. Community voting is not enabled on this dataset.

How many entries are in this Greatest Marathon Runners dataset?

This dataset contains 17 entries, each with multiple sortable, filterable columns. The full table is visible on this page and can be downloaded as a CSV, JSON, or Excel file.

Can I download the Greatest Marathon Runners data?

Yes. The download buttons at the top of the page give you the full 17-row dataset as CSV, JSON, or Excel. Use of the data is permitted under a Creative Commons Attribution license — credit dtbse.com when you republish.