The 10 fastest men to ever run a marathon as we approach the Olympic race

The marathon is the most epic distance in athletics, with roots dating back to the ancient Greeks. Runners have got faster and faster over the 42.195km (26 mi, 385 yd) course, but who exactly are the fastest men in history?

Runners's World has compiled a top 10 of the world's fastest marathon runners ever. Ready? Go!

Kelvin Kiptum wrote his name into history books in 2023, running the fastest-ever marathon.

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Kiptum needed just 2:00:35 to cover the full distance, with a stunning pace of 4:36.0 per mile, as calculated by Marathon Handbook.

He was considered a serious contender to run the first sub 2-hour marathon, but tragically died on 11 February 2024 in a car accident in Kenya, as reported by the BBC. Kiptum was only 24 years old.

In doing so, he broke the world record by legend and compatriot Eliud Kipchoge.

The Kenyan set this time in Berlin in 2022, where he ran 2:01:09, according to World Athletics.

Next on our list is another legend, Kenenisa Bekele.

The Ethiopian ran 2:01:41 in Berlin in 2019, which was "the second fastest marathon ever" at the time, as per World Athletics.

Fourth on the list is Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia.

Lemma set the course record at the Valencia Marathon with a time of 2:01:48 to move fourth on the men's world all-time list.

Benson Kipruto's time of 2:02:16 at the Tokyo Marathon in March 2024 was two minutes better than his previous personal best.

Kipruto broke Eliud Kipchoge's previous record on the course to put him fifth on the all-time list.

In sixth place is Ethiopian compatriot Birhanu Legese.

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Legese also set his best time in 2019 in Berlin with 2:02:48, as recorded by Watch Athletics.

In seventh place is another Ethiopian, Mosinet Geremew.

He needed 2:02:55 to cover the marathon distance, a time set in London in 2019, per the official London Marathon website.

Timothy Kiplagat finished second at the Tokyo Marathon in March 2024, with a personal best time of 2:02:55.

During the race, his 25k split was the third-fastest ever recorded.

Next up is Kenyan Dennis Kimetto.

Kimetto ran his best time ever in Berlin in 2014, with 2:02:57, World Athletics reported after the event.

Just behind Kimetto, we find Evans Chebet.

Chebet needed just three seconds more, good for a best time of 2:03:00, which he set in 2020 in Valencia, according to World Athletics.

Finally, we find the only non-Kenyan and non-Ethiopian in our list, Gabriel Geay.

Like Chebet, Geay's top time is 2:03:00, a personal best he ran at Valencia in 2022, as per Spanish newspaper Marca.

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