Tokyo Marathon Records Fall

Brigid Kosgei's victory in the women's race was a significant return to form for the 32-year-old Kenyan, who has struggled with injuries in recent years. Her winning time of 2:14:29 not only shattered the previous course record of 2:15:55, set by Sutume Asefa Kebede in 2024, but was also close to her personal best of 2:14:04, which was a world record when she set it in 2019. This was her first victory in a World Marathon Major since 2022. The men's race culminated in a dramatic three-way sprint to the finish line. Ethiopia's Tadese Takele, aged 23, successfully defended his title with a time of 2:03:37, the same official time as Kenya's Geoffrey Toroitich in second place. Alexander Mutiso, also from Kenya, finished just one second behind to take third place. For Feng Peiyou, the race was a historic moment for Chinese marathon running. He became the first Chinese athlete to run a marathon in under two hours and six minutes, setting a new national record of 2:05:58. This performance shattered the previous record of 2:06:57, held by He Jie. Feng, the first Asian runner to cross the finish line, was spurred on by the presence of top Japanese runners Suguru Osako and Kengo Suzuki. He ran alongside them for much of the race, which he said fired him up and made him run boldly. His next goal is to challenge the Asian men's record of 2:04:43.