Nichola Sheridan produced another breakthrough run to finish third in the women’s race at the Melbourne Marathon in 2:29:13, the fastest time run by an Irish woman this year, moving her to sixth on the Irish all-time list.
Finishing inside the famed Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), the 29-year-old from Meath, who moved to Australia last year, improved her previous best by just over four minutes.
Though a relative latecomer to the marathon distance, having made her debut in Dublin in 2024, Sheridan ran a perfectly paced race, passing the halfway point in 1:14:33.
Her breakthrough came in winning the Dublin City Half Marathon in March 2025, representing Bohermeen AC. She then was the third Irish woman home in last year’s Dublin Marathon, running 2:39:56 for her first sub-2:40 finish.
READ MORE
Sheridan improved on that in July’s Gold Coast Marathon in Brisbane, clocking 2:33:26 to finish eighth, establishing herself as the top Irish women’s marathon runner this year. Her results in Melbourne now puts her just behind Sonia O’Sullivan’s best of 2:29:01 (set in London 21 years ago) on the Irish all-time list.
The women’s race in Melbourne was won by Camille French from New Zealand, who clocked 2:28:25 to finish 24 seconds ahead of Mayo-born Sinead Diver (49), who has been represented Australia since 2015. In 2022, Diver ran 2:21:34 at the Valencia Marathon in what was then an Australian record and which remains the fastest time run by an Irish-born woman.
At this rate of improvement, Sheridan is now on course for possible qualification for next year’s World Championships in Beijing and, beyond that, the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.
Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge won the men’s race in Melbourne, running a course record of 2:09:10 for his first marathon victory since 2023. The 41-year-old former world record holder and two-time Olympic champion led a three-man group through halfway in 64:18 before making his winning move shortly before 27km.
