Ethiopians dominated the 2025 Tokyo Marathon, claiming both the men’s and women’s titles as Kenyans struggled to keep up.
Kenyans were stunned at the Tokyo Marathon as Ethiopians reigned supreme, taking the men’s and women’s titles in the open division.
The men’s race saw Ethiopia’s Tadese Tekele take top honours in a personal best time of 2:03:23 after silencing a very strong charge from his compatriots, Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei and defending champion Benson Kipruto.
All eyes were on Kipruto to deliver, since at the pre-race press conference, the Olympic marathon bronze medallist had expressed confidence in his training and was looking forward to lowering the course record time he set last year.
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However, the field proved too strong for the Kenyan who was forced to finish sixth in a time of 2:05:46. The second place was taken by another Ethiopian who stopped the clock in 2:03:51.
Vincent Kipkemboi who finished second behind Eliud Kipchoge at the 2023 Berlin Marathon, rounded up the podium, clocking 2:04:00 to cross the finish line.
Joshua Cheptegei, competing in his second marathon after the 2023 Valencia Marathon, managed to settle for ninth place in a time of 2:05:59.
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The women’s race also saw an Ethiopian, Sutume Asefa Kebede win the race decisively in a time of 2:16:31. The defending champion had expressed confidence in her training and was sure of title defence as she spoke in the pre-race press conference.
From the start, it was evident that Sutume Asefa Kebede did not come to play as she started the lead and slowly opened the gap until she crossed the finish line in 2:16:31.
Kenyan Winfridah Moraa Moseti finished second in 2:16:56 as another Ethiopian, Hawi Feysa sealed the podium in a time of 2:17:00.
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Rosemary Wanjiru, who had plans to reclaim the title she won in 2023, was forced to finish a distant fifth in the race, clocking 2:19:57. Former world champion Gotytom Gebreslase was also in the race and she faded to a seventh-place finish in 2:20:25.
The first Japanese in the men’s race to cross the finish line was Tubasa Ichiyama who finished 10th in 2:06:00. In the women’s race Yuka Ando was the first Japanese to finish the race, crossing the line in 10th place in a time of 2:23:37.