Cape Town Awaits a Women's Marathon Masterclass in 2026
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mybestruns.comHere are the latest results I could verify for the 2026 Cape Town Marathon, based on recent reports.
Overview
- The 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon took place on May 24, 2026, with about 27,000 runners starting in Cape Town. Elite winners were Ethiopian runners: Huseydin Mohamed Esa won the men’s race in 2:04:55, while Dera Dida Yami won the women’s race in 2:23:18. These results reflect the elite race outcomes, with broad participation across the field [source: Runner's World coverage of the event, May 2026] [source: Cape Town-focused race reporting from May 2026].
Elite results
- Men: 1) Huseydin Mohamed Esa (ETH) 2:04:55; 2) Yihunilign Adane (ETH) 2:04:59; 3) Kalipus Lomwai (KEN) 2:05:06; 4) Leonard Langat (KEN) 2:05:26. These figures come from contemporaneous race reporting on the elite results for CPT 2026 [source: Runner's World live results summary] [source: additional CPT marathon coverage from May 2026].
- Women: 1) Dera Dida Yami (ETH) 2:23:18; 2) Mestawut Fikir (ETH) 2:23:46; 3) Waganesh Amare (ETH) 2:23:57; 4) Leah Cheruto (KEN) 2:24:31. Further top-10 details and splits were published by race coverage outlets at the time [source: Runner's World results article] [source: CPT marathon media coverage May 2026].
Context and notes
- Cape Town was vying to join the Abbott World Marathon Majors, with 2026 marking the final candidacy year; the field was strong with several Pacers and a hefty prize purse driving fast times, even as late withdrawals had some impact on the elite lineup. This context is described in race previews and post-race analyses around the 2026 event [source: Cape Town marathon reporting May 2026] [source: capetown.today/related reporting May 2026].
- On the ground, organizers emphasized the “Spirit of Resilience” branding and the event’s status as Africa’s first AbbottWMM candidate, which helps explain the high-caliber field and performance expectations for 2026 [source: Supersport / race preview pieces May 2026].
Would you like me to pull the full top-10 finishers for both genders or provide a downloadable CSV of the elite results? I can also summarize how the 2026 results compare to the 2025 CPT results if that would help.