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Why Kenyan athletes have been dominating marathons

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Eliud Kipchoge breaks his own world record after winning the 2022 Berlin Marathon. [AFP] 

In the first two World Marathon Majors of 2026, 19 of the 20 top five finishers across both the men's and women's races were East African. That is 95 per cent.

Zoom out further, and the percentages maintain a relative hold. 93 percent of the top 50 fastest marathon times ever run by men, and 86 percent by women, have come from athletes of East African descent.

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