After the success (and a little controversy) of last week’s U.S. marathoner power rankings and the end of the spring World Marathon Majors, it’s a great time to take stock and look at who the best marathoners in the world are right now.

In some ways, defining “right now” is just as difficult as forecasting out to 2028. Do we only consider races run in 2026? How long ago is too long to be relevant? Someone like Olympic champ Sifan Hassan, for example, is the fourth-fastest woman of all time but most recently finished a well-beaten sixth in New York, then withdrew from London with an injury. There was a hefty debate among the group as to whether Benson Kipruto’s 2025 NYC Marathon victory should outweigh his loss to Alphonce Simbu in Boston. Ultimately, it’s a bit hard to say definitively, but we tried our best to focus on the last 12 months of racing.

As always, marathoning accomplishments fall into two main buckets: how fast you run and who you beat. Even though this is a snapshot of world marathoning as it currently stands in April 2026, you’ll see a slight bias toward runners who’ve proven they can be consistently good over intermittently great—which of course slightly hurts the two marathoners on this list who’ve only run one marathon. But if you made the top five with only one performance, it must’ve been a damn good one.

Women

5. Fotyen Tesfay

Some may consider Tesfay the legitimate world record holder after her stunning 2:10:51 debut to win the Barcelona Marathon. (It’s now the second-fastest mark in history behind Ruth Chepngetich’s now-suspect record.) Tesfay doesn’t have a second performance or WMM win to move her higher on the list, but like her countryman Yomif Kejelcha, the future is clearly bright given her sole effort to date and her two sub-64 half marathon performances. It wouldn’t be surprising to see her shoot upward on this list this fall if, or perhaps when, she picks up a second win and the huge appearance fee she’ll likely command.

4. Sharon Lokedi

As the now two-time Boston champ, Lokedi has assuredly put to rest any suggestion that she doesn’t deserve a top five ranking. Her second win in Boston gives her three WMM victories and six total podium finishes, which should more than balance out her comparatively modest 2:17:22 PB. Her surprise victory at New York in 2022 may have seemed at the time like a fluke, but with each passing year and each passing major race, Lokedi has shown she’s legitimately one of the best in the world on any given day.

3. Brigid Kosgei

The former world record holder had fallen out of the top rankings for a little while, but she’s back in the mix thanks to a commanding 2:14:29 course record win at the Tokyo Marathon this past spring. After running 2:16 to win Shanghai last fall and finishing second to Sifan Hassan in Sydney, Kosgei has officially run her way back into the top five mix. Only two women have run sub-2:15 more than once: Kosgei and Chepngetich—who’s not on this list for obvious reasons.

2. Hellen Obiri

It takes a world-beater to beat Hellen Obiri, and that’s just what happened in London. Since her sixth-place debut in New York in 2022, Obiri has finished first or second in all her WMM appearances (she also nabbed a bronze medal in Paris). She’s won four of her nine career marathons, and with her new PB of 2:15:53 and second-place finish from London, she’s shown she can do it in a fast, rabbited race just as well as any other. Of the 11 women ahead of Obiri on the all-time list, only Tigst Assefa has shown she can consistently beat Obiri, which she’s now down twice. The only other woman to beat Obiri more than once in a marathon is Lokedi, but Obiri has the lifetime 5-2 advantage on her compatriot.

1. Tigst Assefa

London ultimately was a battle for world #1, as both Assefa and Obiri now have four World Marathon Major wins apiece, but Assefa won the head-to-head duel. In the four years since Assfa’s breakout run to win the 2022 Berlin Marathon, she’s run six marathons and finished first or second in all of them. The only two women to beat Assefa in that time are Peres Jepchirchir (twice) and Sifan Hassan at the Olympics, so you’ve basically gotta be an all-time great to even give her a scare. Her second straight London and second women’s-only world record now pair nicely with her 2:11:53 PB (#3 all-time), and she’s officially the top dog until someone else knocks her off.

Honorable mentions: Sifan Hassan (2025 Sydney champ; pulled out of London with injury) Peres Jepchirchir (reigning World champ; pulled out of London with injury), Hawi Feysa (2025 Chicago champ; third in Tokyo), Joyciline Jepkosgei (2025 Valencia champ; third in London)

Men

5. Alphonce Simbu
Simbu’s 2:02:47 PB from Boston is slower than a good number of men’s who could claim the fifth spot, but the reigning World champ has finished second in Boston the past two years and most recently beat the current New York Marathon champ, Benson Kipruto, to do it. With no World title to defend this fall, the best way for Simbu to solidify his spot or try to move up further in the ranks would be to find a fast, flat race and target a 2:01.

4. Yomif Kejelcha

You might be surprised to see the second fastest man of all time relegated to fourth. Kejelcha certainly made a splash with his debut, and he currently holds the unique honor of being the only man in history to never run over two hours in a marathon. But he’s also only got a sample size of one, and if he wants to change his track-based reputation as a Silver Surfer, he’s gotta win a big one to move up the list. That being said, his next race will likely be one of the most hotly-anticipated sophomore efforts in history.

3. Jacob Kiplimo

You’ve got to feel for the 25-year-old Ugandan, who ran seven seconds faster than Kelvin Kiptum’s old world record in London but got turned into a total afterthought by Kejelcha and Sawe’s runs. He’s still got an incredible resume, however, with his 2:00:28 supplemented by a win in Chicago and a runner-up finish behind Sawe in his debut. If non-marathoning results were being considered for these power rankings, Kiplimo would probably leapfrog into the #2 spot, given that he’s the world record holder in the half marathon and sandwiched his marathons with his third straight World XC title. Alas, he gets the bump over Kejelcha thanks to his Chicago win but not the bonus of secondary distances.

2. John Korir

Under almost any other circumstances, Korir would be the consensus world #1. He’s won the last four marathons he’s finished (2026 Boston, 2025 Valencia, 2025 Boston, and 2024 Chicago) and run sub-2:03 three times. The one blemish on his recent record is a DNF in Chicago last fall after being outdueled by Kiplimo, but he reclaims the edge over his rival thanks to his stellar course-record run and blistering close in Boston. (We guess having not run sub-two before is technically a blemish here, too.)

1. Sabastian Sawe

This one should come as no surprise to anyone. Sawe is perfect at the two main criteria for greatness—running fast and winning. He’s four for four in marathons, is now the world record holder, and has run 2:02 or faster each time. The one metric he’s yet to prove in his nascent marathoning career is the ability to win on a hilly, unpaced course like New York or Boston, having only run Valencia, London, and Berlin thus far. If he proves just as adept at that, he could very well become the first man to do what even Eliud Kipchoge could not: win all six (or seven or whatever) World Marathon Majors and become the undisputed greatest of all time.

Honorable mentions: Benson Kipruto (2025 NYC champ; third in Boston); Amos Kipruto (fourth in London; 2nd in 2025 Chicago), Tadese Takele (2025 and 2026 Tokyo champ), Tamirat Tola (fifth in London, Doha champ), Alexander Munyao (second in 2025 NYC; third in 2026 Tokyo and 2025 London)

Unlike the shorter track events, the lack of a full World Championship this year doesn’t feel like nearly as much of a loss for the marathon crowd, who’d rather get the big paycheck that comes with a WMM appearance anyway. But more than ever before, all eyes will be on Berlin, Chicago, and New York (and, to a lesser extent, Sydney and Valencia) to see if the best marathoners of 2026 can hold onto their crowns or if a rising challenger will knock them off the throne.

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