Athens Marathon winners and course records by year

Winners 2021–2025

Each line shows the winner of the race's overall classification. That is not the same as the Greek champion: the Greek marathon championship is held inside the same race and appears as a separate classification on the World Athletics page. The time is the official time of the source named; where a second official system differs by 1-2 seconds we say so (see the section "How the winners lists were checked and where sources differ").

• 2025 · 9 November (42nd) — Men: Panagiotis Karaiskos (GRE) 2:20:10 · Women: Stamatia (Matina) Noula (GRE) 2:39:28 · Sources: World Athletics; the organiser's official results archive (same times); organiser report of 9/11/2025
• 2024 · 10 November — Men: Charalampos (Babis) Pitsolis (GRE) 2:18:56 · Women: Stamatia Noula (GRE) 2:40:20 · Sources: World Athletics; the organiser's archive shows 2:40:19 for Noula
• 2023 · 12 November — Men: Edwin Kiptoo (KEN) 2:10:34 · Women: Soukaina Atanane (MAR) 2:31:52 · Sources: World Athletics; the organiser's archive shows 2:10:32 and 2:31:51
• 2022 · 13 November — Men: Charalampos Pitsolis (GRE) 2:23:44 · Women: Vasiliki Konstantinopoulou (GRE) 2:46:01 · Sources: World Athletics; the organiser's archive shows 2:23:43 for Pitsolis
• 2021 · 14 November — Men: Konstantinos Gkelaouzos (GRE) 2:16:49 · Women: Gloria Priviletzio (GRE) 2:41:30 · Sources: the organiser's official results (myrace timing, list A); the organiser's results archive, same times. Results were published in two lists (A and B) on the same day; in list B the fastest man ran 2:47:16 and the fastest woman 3:04:54
• 2020 — No race: SEGAS and the Organising Committee announced on 2 October 2020 that the 7-8 November event was cancelled because of COVID-19 (statement as published by AIMS)

Winners 2010–2019

The lines in this section come from World Athletics, from the organiser's own race reports and official results, and, for the athletes' countries in 2011-2015, from the results published by AIMS (the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races). The organiser's results archive does not list a country.

• 2019 · 10 November — Men: John Kipkorir Komen (KEN) 2:16:34 · Women: Eleftheria Petroulaki (GRE) 2:45:50 · Sources: World Athletics; the organiser's official results (the second time shown for Petroulaki is 2:45:48)
• 2018 · 11 November — Men: Brimin Kipkorir (KEN) 2:10:56 · Women: Shelmith Nyawira (KEN) 2:36:46 · Sources: World Athletics; the organiser's official results (the second time shown for Kipkorir is 2:10:55)
• 2017 · 12 November — Men: Samuel Kalalei (KEN) 2:12:17 · Women: Bedatu Hirpa Badane (ETH) 2:34:18 · Sources: the organiser's official results; the organiser's post-race report
• 2016 · 13 November — Men: Luka Rotich (KEN) 2:12:49 · Women: Nancy Arusei (KEN) 2:38:13 · Sources: the organiser's post-race report; the organiser's timing page shows 2:12:48
• 2015 · 8 November — Men: Christoforos Merousis (GRE) 2:21:22 · Women: Minori Hayakari (JPN) 2:52:06 · Sources: the organiser's race report; AIMS; the organiser's archive shows 2:52:05 for Hayakari. The organiser notes that it had not included an elite international field that year
• 2014 · 9 November — Men: Felix Kandie (KEN) 2:10:37 · Women: Naomi Maiyo (KEN) 2:41:06 · Sources: the organiser's race report; AIMS; the organiser's archive shows 2:10:35 and 2:41:04
• 2013 · 10 November — Men: Hillary Yego (KEN) 2:13:51 · Women: Nancy Joan Rotich (KEN) 2:41:31 · Sources: the organiser's results archive; country from AIMS and the organiser's later announcements; AIMS shows 2:13:55 and 2:41:34, and the organiser's 2014 preview gives 2:41:32 for Rotich
• 2012 · 11 November — Men: Raymond Bett (KEN) 2:11:35 · Women: Consolater Chemtai Yadaa (KEN) 2:39:57 · Sources: the organiser's announcement (2:11:35 for Bett); the organiser's results archive (2:39:57 for Yadaa); AIMS (2:40:00, and the country); the archive shows 2:11:34 for Bett
• 2011 · 13 November — Men: Abdelkerim Boubker (MAR) 2:11:40 · Women: Elfenesh Melkamu (ETH) 2:35:25 · Sources: AIMS; the organiser's results archive, same times (it spells her name Melaku Yado Elfneshe)
• 2010 · 31 October — Men: Raymond Bett (KEN) 2:12:40 · Women: Rasa Drazdauskaitė (LTU) 2:31:06 · Sources: World Athletics (race report); the organiser's results archive, same times

Course record versus race record: two different things

The organiser's official results page (Final results (Official)) currently displays the course records: men 2:10:34, Edwin Kiptoo (KEN), 12/11/2023, Athens; women 2:26:20, Mizuki Noguchi (JPN), 22/8/2004, Athens. The women's figure does not come from an edition of the Athens Marathon but from the 2004 women's Olympic marathon, run on the same route (World Athletics: 1. Noguchi 2:26:20). The 2:31:06 (Rasa Drazdauskaitė, 2010) is the fastest women's time of the annual race, that is the race record according to World Athletics, not the course record. Note that the organiser uses the term "event record" (ρεκόρ διοργάνωσης) for other performances too (see the section "How the winners lists were checked and where sources differ").

World Athletics draws the same line in its 2010 race report: Stefano Baldini won the 2004 Olympic marathon in a "course record (as opposed to race record)", while Rasa Drazdauskaitė's 2:31:06 smashed the women's race record by more than two minutes (previous record 2:33:19, Svetlana Ponomarenko, 2007).

For men the course record has had three holders since 2004: 2:10:55 by Stefano Baldini at the 2004 Olympics (World Athletics); 2:10:37 by Felix Kandie in 2014, which the organiser says improved Baldini's time by 18 seconds; and 2:10:34 by Edwin Kiptoo in 2023. In the organiser's archive the gap is the same 3 seconds (2:10:35 and 2:10:32). The fastest of the 15 winning times from 2010 to 2025 is the record itself.

On the Greek side: the organiser cites 2:39:10 by Maria Polyzou in 1997 (the Athens World Championships; see /en/articles/maria-polyzou-marathon-record-career) as the best Greek women's time on the course, 18 seconds faster than Noula's 2:39:28 in 2025. The fastest Greek winning time between 2010 and 2025 is Konstantinos Gkelaouzos's 2:16:49 (2021).

The course is regarded as one of the hardest: World Athletics, in its report on the 2010 race, calls it one of the hardest of the world's famous marathons and describes an uphill section of close to 21 km. Our guide "Athens Marathon course: km by km" (/en/articles/athens-marathon-course-km-by-km) describes long uphill sections from about the 11th to the 31st km (with a downhill stretch before the Rafina junction) and places the hardest point and the highest elevation at the 30th-31st km. For the history of the first Marathon-to-Athens race see Spyridon Louis (/en/articles/spyridon-louis-1896-olympic-marathon), for the Pheidippides legend (/en/articles/pheidippides-history-vs-legend) and for the 2004 Olympic races (/en/articles/athens-2004-olympic-marathon).

Panagiotis Karaiskos and Stamatia Noula: the 2025 wins

Karaiskos (NGS Iraklis Thessaloniki) crossed the line first in the Panathenaic Stadium in 2:20:10. According to the organiser's report he took the lead before the 10th km with only Amanteous Klements alongside and was alone after the 15th; second was Konstantinos Stamoulis in 2:23:24 (3:14 behind), Hungary's László Tarnai was third in 2:23:52 and the 2024 winner, Pitsolis, fourth in 2:24:02 (World Athletics). The organiser describes heat, humidity and a south wind, and says it was the second time Karaiskos became Greek champion.

In earlier years Karaiskos was second in 2024 in 2:19:50, 54 seconds behind Pitsolis, and in 2023 finished 7th overall in 2:22:37 but first in the Greek championship classification, in a race won by Kiptoo (World Athletics). That is the difference between the race winner and the Greek champion.

The first woman in 2025 was Stamatia (Matina) Noula in 2:39:28, 10:03 ahead of the runner-up, Panagiota Vlachaki (2:49:31), with Ourania Rempouli third (2:52:07). It was her second successive win after 2:40:20 in 2024. Her marathon personal best, 2:38:53, is from Copenhagen (2025) and is covered in her profile (/en/articles/stamatia-noula-marathon-results). For the wider context of Greek marathon running see "Greek Running Legends" (/en/articles/greek-running-legends).

What the data of the 15 editions shows

The observations below are counts over the two winners lists above, 2021-2025 and 2010-2019 (15 editions, 2010-2025 without 2020). They do not explain causes.

• Men, 2012-2019: Kenyans won 7 of the 8 editions (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019). The exception was 2015 with Christoforos Merousis, when the organiser noted it had not included an elite international field.
• Women, 2012-2019: Kenyans won 5 of the 8 (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018); the other three wins went to Minori Hayakari (JPN, 2015), Bedatu Hirpa Badane (ETH, 2017) and Eleftheria Petroulaki (GRE, 2019).
• Men, 2021-2025: Greeks won 4 of the 5 editions (Gkelaouzos 2021, Pitsolis 2022 and 2024, Karaiskos 2025). The exception was Edwin Kiptoo in 2023.
• Women, 2021-2025: also 4 of the 5 were Greek (Priviletzio 2021, Konstantinopoulou 2022, Noula 2024 and 2025); in 2023 Soukaina Atanane (MAR) won.
• Fast times: only three winners ran under 2:11:00 (Kandie 2:10:37 in 2014, Kipkorir 2:10:56 in 2018, Kiptoo 2:10:34 in 2023). Apart from Kiptoo, every winning time since 2019 is slower than 2:16:30.
• Repeat winners: Raymond Bett (2010, 2012), Charalampos Pitsolis (2022, 2024), Stamatia Noula (2024, 2025).

How many take part: runners in the final results by year and the 2026 cap

For 2025 the organiser published a review: 19,104 runners finished the marathon, a record, of whom 14,753 were men and 4,351 women. Separately, the review lists 18,000 runners from abroad (a record) and 126 countries represented at "this year's race"; it does not say whether these two figures cover the marathon only or all races. Across all distances 76,000 runners had registered. (Another organiser post, of 10/11/2025, says 19,105.)

For earlier years the figures below count the runners listed in the organiser's final results; the two sources (myrace timing for 2016-2019, the organiser's archive for 2021-2024) use different methods, so comparisons are approximate. The archive shows 18,975 finishers for 2025, about 0.7% fewer than the organiser's own review.

• 2016: 13,707 (11,189 men, 2,518 women) — the organiser's official results (myrace)
• 2017: 14,743 (11,828 men, 2,915 women) — the organiser's official results (myrace)
• 2018: 15,292 (12,004 men, 3,288 women) — the organiser's official results (myrace)
• 2019: 16,439 (12,908 men, 3,531 women) — the organiser's official results (myrace)
• 2021: 7,518 (6,176 men, 1,342 women) — the organiser's archive, both lists; the first race after the 2020 cancellation
• 2022: 12,516 (10,050 men, 2,466 women) — the organiser's archive
• 2023: 17,060 (13,338 men, 3,722 women) — the organiser's archive
• 2024: 16,953 (13,260 men, 3,693 women) — the organiser's archive; a further 261 with status DNF and 98 DSQ
• 2025: 19,104 (14,753 men, 4,351 women) — the organiser's review, 11/11/2025
• Share of women, approximately and on different counting bases: 19.8% in 2017 (2,915 of 14,743 in the final results list) and 22.8% in 2025 (4,351 of 19,104 finishers per the organiser). The 2025 figure is approximately 30% higher than 2017 (19,104 against 14,743, on different counting bases); using the archive's 18,975 for 2025 the rise is about 29%.
• 2026: the marathon cap rose to 25,000 from 23,000 in 2025 and sold out in under 36 hours (organiser announcements of 23/4 and 25/4/2026).

Prize money: what the organiser has published

On 28/10/2025 the organiser published the cash prize schedule for the 42nd race. Those rules applied to that year; for 2026 the organiser had not published a new schedule when we checked on 29/9/2026 (the latest post we found on its blog is dated 18/9/2026).

• General ranking, places 1-6: 5,000, 3,000, 1,600, 1,100, 800 and 500 euros, on condition of a performance below 2:16:00 for men and below 2:35:00 for women
• Best Greeks, places 1-6: 5,000, 1,900, 1,300, 800, 600 and 400 euros, on condition of a performance below 2:28:00 for men and below 2:58:00 for women
• Greek title: the winner also receives the bonus that the Leventis Foundation has established for years (the amount is not stated)
• For scale, 2025: Karaiskos's 2:20:10 is slower than the 2:16:00 general threshold and faster than the 2:28:00 Greek threshold; Noula's 2:39:28 is slower than the 2:35:00 threshold and faster than 2:58:00. We did not find a published list of who was paid (checked 29/9/2026: the organiser's blog and results archive)
• Awards: the 2026 race page says every finisher who completes the race gets a commemorative medal; trophies (medal and certificate) go to the top three men and top three women of the overall marathon ranking and to the winners of SEGAS's National Marathon Championship. On the cup the language versions of the page differ: the English page gives it only to the athlete who finishes first in the race, the Greek page to the first male and the first female athlete of the race; the organiser does not explain the difference (checked 29/9/2026)

2026: the Elite Label as context, not a prediction

The 43rd Athens Marathon takes place on Sunday 8 November 2026. On 7 April 2026 World Athletics announced that the race had been awarded Elite Label status as part of a strategic partnership with SEGAS and the Region of Attica, and that formal exploratory discussions had opened for Athens to host the first standalone World Marathon Championships in 2030 (the announcement is reproduced on the organiser's blog).

In an interview on 23/4/2026 the race's technical director explained the Elite Label requirements: a minimum prize pool of 35,000 dollars per gender (70,000 in total) for the top eight, Category B in the World Rankings, and at least five men and five women with performances from 2024-2026 worth 1,115 ranking points, which translates to 2:10:52 for men and 2:30:17 for women (or 1:01:48 and 1:10:44 in the half marathon). A technical meeting, pacemakers, a separate warm-up area and a minimum number of anti-doping tests are also required. Elite athletes run in the same race as the thousands of other runners.

For scale, by simple arithmetic: the 2:10:52 standard is 18 seconds slower than the men's course record (2:10:34), and 2:30:17 is 49 seconds faster than the women's race record (2:31:06) and about 4 minutes slower than the course record (2:26:20). The 2025 winners (2:20:10 and 2:39:28) were about nine minutes slower than these standards.

This is context, not a prediction: the organiser had not published an elite entry list when we checked on 29/9/2026, and in 2025, in the organiser's account, the conditions (heat, humidity and a south wind) made it harder for the runners. For the race programme and times see "Athens Marathon 2026: dates and races" (/en/articles/athens-authentic-marathon-2026-guide), for the visitor guide (/en/articles/athens-marathon-travel-spectator-guide) and for how the race compares with the Half Marathon and other Athens races (/en/articles/athens-marathon-vs-half-vs-poseidon-which-to-run).

After the race on 8 November we will add the 2026 line from the official results.

How the winners lists were checked and where sources differ

Every line rests on the organiser's results and announcements (The Athens Marathon. The Authentic, run by SEGAS) or on World Athletics. AIMS, which is not the organiser, was used for the athletes' countries and as a second source of times for 2011-2015; where it differs from the official results the difference is noted. Third-party summary tables (Wikipedia, for example) were not used for any cell. The check was made on 29 September 2026.

The sources do not always give the same time for the same runner, with differences of 0 to 4 seconds. In 2018 and 2019 the first figure on the myrace timing page equals the World Athletics time and the second figure is 1-2 seconds lower for some runners, as is the organiser's current archive against World Athletics (probably gun time versus net time; we did not confirm which). In the winners lists we give the World Athletics time or the time in the announcement of the day and note the archive time where it differs.

Three points where the organiser's own posts disagree with each other or with the results: the 2025 finisher count (19,104 in the review, 19,105 in the post of 10/11/2025, the day after the race); the year of the Greek men's best (one post says 2018 for Gkelaouzos's 2:16:49, while the results place it in 2021); and the term "event record" (ρεκόρ διοργάνωσης). The posts of 7/11/2025 and 11/11/2025 use it for Noula's 2:40:19 (2024), Noula's 2:39:28 (2025) and Gkelaouzos's 2:16:49, while the results archive and World Athletics show 2:31:06 (2010) as the fastest women's time and 2:10:34 (2023) as the fastest men's. The organiser does not define the term; it appears to refer to Greek performances at the race, but that is our reading. We used the results, not the posts.

If you find an error the organiser prevails: the official results are at athensauthenticmarathon.gr/en/results. This page will next be updated after the official 2026 results.