BUCHANAN CHASES HISTORY AS INTERNATIONAL STARS DESCEND ON GOLD COAST

Australian marathon record holder Andy Buchanan will chase history at the 2026 China Airlines Half Marathon as he looks to become the first athlete to win the race three times while also attempting to reclaim the Australian half marathon all-comers record. 

Buchanan returns to the Gold Coast as the two-time defending champion after his race win in 2024 was followed by a historic performance in 2025 when he clocked 1:01:08 to break the race record and set a new Australian all-comers mark. 

Also chasing his own slice of history will be Brett Robinson who won the race in 2022 and 2023 and is the former Australian record holder over both the marathon and half marathon. 

With the previous four race wins between them, will either Buchanan or Robinson be the first man to win the China Airlines Half Marathon on the Gold Coast a record three times? 

However, the Australian distance running landscape shifted when Haftu Strintzos ran a stunning 1:00:41 at the Launceston Running Festival at the end of May to take the national all-comers record from Buchanan, setting the stage for a fascinating showdown with Australia’s fastest runners now chasing sub-61-minute performances on home soil. 

Buchanan and Robinson will face strong challenges from both Australian elite athletes and an international contingent that are hungry to make their mark. 

Emerging Australian stars Liam Boudin (1:01:26) and Tim Vincent (1:01:43) arrive in career-best form. The Gold Coast has played an important role in both Boudin and Vincent’s development, with the pair launching their marathon careers at the event before earning opportunities to race internationally in Kobe and since then they have both gone from strength to strength. 

Sam Clifford also returns after his impressive 1:01:49 performance on the Gold Coast last year, while Sydney’s Ed Goddard (1:02:01) and Brisbane-based Olympian Ryan Gregson (1:03:00) adds further depth to the elite Australian contingent. 

In addition, in what is sure to be one of the mostly highly anticipated half marathon debuts in recent years Edward Marks will be looking to make a statement after he ran a scintillating 27:57 over 10km in Launceston to set a new Australian all-comers record for the distance. 

A strong Japanese challenge will be led by Neo Namiki (1:00:29), Daisuke Sato (1:00:40), Hideto Yamanaka (1:00:52), Shumpei Tomita (1:00:58), Yuta Azuma (1:01:32), Tetsuya Yoroizaka (1:01:48) and Shin Kimura (1:01:58) who are all capable of pushing the pace from the outset. In total there will be 12 Japanese men with sub 63-minute personal bests on the Gold Coast start line. 

 New Zealand will also be well represented with Oli Chignell (1:02:34), Cameron Avery (1:02:50), Toby Gualter (1:03:15) and Taonga Mbambo (1:03:45) all looking to run a fast time. 

Adding further intrigue, the race will also host both the 2026 Oceania Area Half Marathon Championships and the 2026 Australian Half Marathon Championships, creating several battles within the race itself. 

With Australian Athletics recently opening the qualifying window for the 2026 World Road Running Championships, a number of athletes will also be targeting qualifying standards on one of the fastest courses in the world.