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Kenya’s Benson Kipruto and Ethiopia’s Sutume Assefa Kebede set Japanese all-comers records of 2:02:16 and 2:15:55, respectively, to win the Tokyo Marathon. World Athletics Platinum Label Road Race – Sunday (3).
Both achieved convincing victories in strong fields in the Japanese capital. Kipruto, the 2022 Chicago Marathon champion, finished in Kenya’s top three ahead of Timothy Kiplagat and Vincent Kipkemoi Getich, while Kebede was ahead of Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru and Ethiopia’s world champion Amane Beriso. He defeated the other players and won the championship.
The winner beat the previous records of 2:02:40 and 2:16:02 set by Eliud Kipchoge and Brigitte Kosgei in 2022. Kipchoge is back in Tokyo and looking to achieve his next goal, returning to the country where he won the second of his two Olympic marathon titles. He regained the title, but this time the former world record holder settled for 10th place with a time of 2:06:50.
The men’s race proceeded at world record pace, but by the 15km mark the tempo had settled down and the four-strong group of Kipchoge, Kipruto, Kiplagat and Getich, running behind the three pacemakers, crossed the mark in 42 minutes and 52 seconds.
Start of the 2024 Tokyo Marathon (©AFP/Getty Images)
Kipchoge started to fall back before 20km and was five seconds behind when the leaders reached the checkpoint in 57 minutes and 14 seconds.
The second half of the race was a bit of a cat-and-mouse game between the leading trio, but Kipchoge continued to drop down the order. At the 30km mark, Kiplagat was 5 seconds ahead of his successor and was overtaken in 1 hour 26 minutes 08 seconds, before Kipurgat took control.
Completely dropping Ngetich, last year’s Berlin Marathon runner-up, Kiplagat and Kipruto continued to advance, and when Kipruto kicked out with 5km to go, Kiplagat was unable to react.
Kipruto won in 2:02:16, significantly improving his personal record of 2:04:02 set when he won in Chicago last October, and moving into fifth place on the world’s all-time list. Kiplagat also improved his time by nearly a minute, running a time of 2:02:55, while Getich took third place with a time of 2:04:18.
Yusuke Nishiyama finished in 9th place, one place ahead of Kipchoge, with a personal best time of 2 hours 6 minutes 31 seconds, making him the top Japanese racer.
“I didn’t expect it to be a course record, but I’m very happy with how I ran today,” Kipruto said. When asked about the race being run at world record pace, he replied: I knew it was going to be very fast. I had been training for it and I was ready for everything that could happen. ”
In the women’s race, Kebede, Wanjiru, and Beriso were joined by multiple Olympic and World Athletics gold medalists Sifan Hassan, Rona Chemtai Salpeter, Betsy Saina, and Buznesh Getachew. The runners ran in a group alongside male runners, completing the 15km distance in 48 minutes and 38 seconds.
Hassan was at the back of the pack at the 20km mark, but defending champion Wanjiru reached the front in 1 hour 4 minutes 45 seconds, with Hassan four seconds behind.
Hassan, who won last year’s London and Chicago marathons, gave up on them at the 28km mark, but continued to run alone.
The podium seemed decided at the 30km mark, but Wanjiru, Kebede and Beriso reached it in 1 hour, 36 minutes and 43 seconds, and even after Beriso fell off, Kebede was able to hold off Wanjiru and secure the victory with just a few kilometers remaining.
She won in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 55 seconds, shaving more than two minutes off her personal record set at the 2022 Seoul Games and moving into eighth place on the world’s all-time list. Wanjiru took second place with a time of 2 hours, 16 minutes and 14 seconds, and Beriso took third place with a time of 2 hours, 16 minutes and 58 seconds.
Hassan maintained fourth place with a time of 2:18:05, Saina was fifth with a time of 2:19:17 and Japan’s Hitomi Shintani was sixth with a time of 2:21:50.
“I’m very happy. I can’t find the words,” Kebede said through an interpreter. “This is my first victory and I have no words to express my joy.”
Key results
woman
1 Stume Assefa Kebede (ETH) 2:15:55
2 Rosemary Wanjiru (KEN) 2:16:14
3 Amane Beriso (ETH) 2:16:58
4 Sifan Hassan (NED) 2:18:05
5 Betsy Saina (USA) 2:19:17
6 Hitomi Shintani (JPN) 2:21:50
male
1 Benson Kipruto (Ken) 2:02:16
2 Timothy Kiplagat (Ken) 2:02:55
3 Vincent Kipkemoi Getich (KEN) 2:04:18
4 Hailemariam Quiros (ETH) 2:05:43
5 Tsegae Getachew (ETH) 2:06:25
6 Bethwell Kibet (KEN) 2:06:26
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