Indian distance running witnessed a landmark day at the 2026 New Delhi Marathon as Kartik Karkera stormed to victory in a sensational personal best of 2:13:10, holding off seasoned campaigners Gopi Thonakal and Man Singh in a dramatic sprint finish that saw all three athletes dip under the Asian Games qualification standard.
In what turned out to be one of the fastest marathon races ever run on Indian soil, the top three finishers were separated by just five seconds at the finish line. Gopi Thonakal clocked 2:13:12 the second fastest time of his career to take second place, while Man Singh registered a new personal best of 2:13:15 to complete the podium. Crucially, all three athletes comfortably went under the Asian Games qualification mark of 2:15:04, strengthening India’s long-distance prospects ahead of the continental showpiece later this year.
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For Karkera, the victory marked a massive leap in performance. The 28-year-old orthopedic surgeon had entered the race with a previous personal best of 2:19:55 at the Mumbai Marathon just last month on January 19. His New Delhi run represented an improvement of nearly seven minutes a rare and remarkable progression at the elite marathon level and propelled him to third on the all-time Indian marathon performance list.
The performance also saw him move ahead of Man Singh in the national all-time rankings, underlining the significance of the result in the broader context of Indian marathon history.
The New Delhi Marathon course has traditionally served as a reliable platform for domestic athletes to chase qualification marks, but the 2026 edition elevated expectations dramatically. Karkera’s 2:13:10 now stands as the new course record and ranks among the fastest marathons ever run by an Indian athlete. In fact, the top three times recorded on the day now occupy the third, fourth, and fifth positions in India’s all-time marathon list a statistic that highlights the growing depth in the country’s endurance ecosystem.
Perhaps even more telling was the historic nature of the collective performance. This marked the first instance of three Indian marathoners clocking sub-2:14 timings in the same race — a benchmark that had previously been breached by only a handful of athletes across separate events. With this result, four Indian marathoners have now run under 2:14 in their careers, reflecting a notable upward trend in elite domestic long-distance running standards.
Interestingly, six of the eight fastest marathons ever recorded by Indian athletes have come in just the last three months, pointing to a broader shift in training methodologies, race exposure, and conditioning programs within the national setup. The improvements are also indicative of increasing race competitiveness domestically, as Indian runners begin to push one another to higher performance thresholds rather than relying solely on international pacing environments.
Kartik Karkera
Gopi Thonakal’s 2:13:12 further reinforces his consistency at the top level. Having previously recorded one of the fastest marathons on Indian soil with a 2:14:40 at the 2024 New Delhi Marathon, Gopi bettered that mark by nearly a minute and a half this time around a testament to both improved race conditions and his sustained fitness base.
Man Singh, meanwhile, delivered one of the standout runs of his career. His new personal best of 2:13:15 not only secured a podium finish but also ensured qualification for the Asian Games, adding valuable depth to India’s marathon contingent for the upcoming multi-sport event in Japan.
For Karkera, the implications extend beyond rankings and records. At 28, he remains relatively young by marathon standards, an age at which many elite runners are only beginning to reach physiological maturity in endurance disciplines. If his progression continues along the current trajectory and he remains injury-free, there is growing optimism within Indian athletics circles that he could challenge the 2:10 barrier in conducive racing conditions over the next couple of years.
Such a milestone would place him firmly within the upper echelon of Asian marathon runners and significantly enhance India’s competitiveness at major international championships.
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The 2026 New Delhi Marathon may ultimately be remembered not just for a new course record or a closely fought finish, but as a turning point in the evolution of Indian marathon running one where emerging talent and established names converged to produce a performance standard that signals a promising future for the discipline on the continental stage.
