Tefera Breaks Course Record at the Three-Country Marathon in Bregenz
The 24th Sparkasse Three-Country Marathon was held in western Austria on Sunday, October 11. Starting at the harbour of Lindau on Lake Constance in Germany, the 42.195-kilometre course runs through Lochau, Bregenz, Hard, Fußach and Höchst in Austria, crosses the Old Rhine into St. Margrethen in Switzerland, and returns along the New Rhine into Austria, passing Mehrerau Abbey before finishing at the Bodensee Stadium in Bregenz — one course crossing three national borders.
Ethiopia's Fikre Bekele Tefera won the men's race in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 49 seconds, becoming the first runner in the event's history to break 2:09 and lowering the course record of 2:09:15 set by Kenya's Mark Kosgei Kiptoo in 2023. Tefera pulled clear in the final kilometre to beat Kenya's Lagat Cosmas Kiplimo by six seconds (2:08:55); third-placed Dickson Kiprop, in 2:09:12, also finished inside the old record. Tefera has also held the Linz Marathon course record since 2022.
Germany's Deborah Schöneborn won the women's race in 2:41:56, after her twin sister Rabea, who had accompanied her over the first half, stepped out as planned. Susan Witte was second in 2:47:45 and Lisa Madlener third in 2:50:29. The half marathon was won by Kenya's Brian Kipchumba in 1:04:28 and Germany's Carolin Führen in 1:17:54.
First held on October 7, 2001, the event was staged for the 24th time. Alongside the marathon, the weekend programme included a half marathon, a quarter marathon, a relay, Nordic walking and a youth run; the children's marathon had taken place on Saturday, October 10. Ahead of the race, broadcaster ORF expected a record field of more than 14,000 runners across the weekend, from more than 90 nations; the 2025 edition had drawn over 12,000 athletes from around 96 nations. ORF SPORT + carried the race live on television for the first time this year.
Sources: HDsports results report of October 11, 2026, ORF Vorarlberg's pre-race release via APA-OTS, and the official results lists.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 从普凡德山俯瞰布雷根茨港与博登湖，布雷根茨为三国马拉松的终点。摄影：Asurnipal，CC BY-SA 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
