Tokyo, September 14, 2025 — Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir produced a trademark late surge to win the women’s marathon at the World Championships in Tokyo, snatching gold from Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa in a dramatic final lap inside the Olympic Stadium.
The Olympic champion from Tokyo 2021 timed her sprint to perfection, powering past Assefa in the last 100 metres to clinch victory in 2:24:43. Assefa, the second-fastest woman in marathon history, crossed the line just two seconds later in 2:24:45 after the pair had run shoulder to shoulder through much of the 42-kilometre contest.
Uruguay’s Julia Paternain made history by taking bronze in 2:27:23, becoming the first athlete from her country to secure a track and field medal at either a World Championships or Olympic Games.
The race had seen early fireworks from American Susanna Sullivan, who launched a daring breakaway and led for more than 10 miles before being reeled in by the chasing pack around the 18-mile mark. She eventually faded to fourth.
For Jepchirchir, 31, the victory underlines her reputation as one of the greatest championship performers of her generation. Already the only athlete to have won the Olympic marathon as well as the Boston and New York City marathons within an eight-month stretch (2021–2022), she added the London Marathon crown in 2024, setting a women’s-only world record before Assefa reclaimed it earlier this year.
Her triumph in Tokyo is also a stirring redemption story after finishing a disappointing 14th at the Paris Olympic marathon last summer. Once again, she displayed her trademark resilience—grinding down rivals before unleashing an irresistible kick on the grandest stage.
Assefa, the reigning London champion and Paris Olympic silver medallist, looked poised for victory in the final stretch but had no answer to Jepchirchir’s closing speed on the track.
The Kenyan’s win cements her status not just as a record-setter but as the queen of championship marathons—an athlete who saves her best for when the stakes are highest.
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