Peres Jepchirchir Sprints to Women’s Marathon Gold at Tokyo 2025 World Championships
Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir delivered a masterful performance to win the women’s marathon at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025, edging Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa in a thrilling sprint finish inside the Japan National Stadium on Sunday morning (14 September). Jepchirchir, the Olympic champion and one of the most decorated road runners of her generation, clocked 2:24:43, just two seconds ahead of Assefa (2:24:45) after a tactical, attritional race run in hot and humid conditions.
Uruguay’s Julia Paternain produced the shock of the day by surging through the field in the final kilometres to secure the bronze medal in 2:27:23, winning her country’s first-ever medal at a World Championships in any event.
Heat and tactics shape the race
Organizers moved the start time to 7:30 a.m. local time to mitigate the warm, muggy weather, but temperatures still hovered above 25°C with high humidity. As a result, the race started conservatively, with a large pack staying together through halfway.
Assefa, the Berlin Marathon world record holder, and Jepchirchir began pushing the pace around the 35km mark, gradually thinning the lead group. By the final kilometre, only the two remained, and they entered the Japan National Stadium shoulder to shoulder. Jepchirchir unleashed a devastating sprint over the final 200 metres to take the title, claiming her first world marathon gold.
Historic bronze for Uruguay
Behind them, Julia Paternain ran a brilliantly paced negative split, reeling in fading contenders over the last 10km to clinch bronze. Her medal marks a historic breakthrough for Uruguay, becoming the nation’s first World Championships medalist in athletics.
Women’s Marathon – Tokyo 2025 Final Results | Results
| Pos. | Name | Nat. | Mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Peres JEPCHIRCHIR | KEN | 2:24:43 |
| 2. | Tigst ASSEFA | ETH | 2:24:45 |
| 3. | Julia PATERNAIN | URU | 2:27:23 |
| 4. | Susanna SULLIVAN | USA | 2:28:17 |
| 5. | Alisa VAINIO | FIN | 2:28:32 |
| 6. | Shitaye ESHETE | BRN | 2:28:41 |
| 7. | Kana KOBAYASHI | JPN | 2:28:50 |
| 8. | Jessica MCCLAIN | USA | 2:29:20 |
| 9. | Fionnuala MCCORMACK | IRL | 2:30:16 |
| 10. | Dolshi TESFU | ERI | 2:30:41 |
Course and venue
The marathon course started and finished at Japan National Stadium, tracing a scenic loop through central Tokyo, passing iconic landmarks before the climactic final lap inside the stadium. The challenging conditions made tactical racing paramount, with endurance and heat management proving decisive.
