Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir claimed gold in the women’s marathon at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 on Sunday (14 September), edging out Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa in a dramatic sprint finish.
After 42km through the streets of Tokyo, Jepchirchir and Assefa entered the Japan National Stadium side by side, setting the stage for a thrilling final lap.
Assefa made the first move on the back straight, briefly taking the lead, but Jepchirchir unleashed a powerful final kick over the last 100 metres to surge past her rival and cross the line first in 2:24:43 — two seconds ahead.
With this victory, Jepchirchir adds another major title to her resume, following her Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021.
Assefa, who earlier this year shattered Jepchirchir’s women-only marathon world record with a 2:15:50 performance in London, once again found herself denied gold in a sprint finish — echoing her silver-medal heartbreak at the Paris Olympics last year, where she was outsprinted by Sifan Hassan.
In one of the championship’s biggest surprises, Uruguay’s Julia Paternain claimed bronze in 2:27:23, becoming the first athlete from her country to medal at a World Athletics Championships.
The race began with an early solo break from American Susanna Sullivan, who led for much of the first half before being caught by the eventual podium finishers. Sullivan showed remarkable resilience to finish fourth in 2:28:17.
Among the notable non-finishers was Ethiopia’s Tigist Ketema, while Japan’s Kana Kobayashi — winner of the Osaka Marathon in January — received a warm ovation from the home crowd as she finished seventh.