- The 2025 Tokyo Marathon is scheduled to be held on Sunday, March 2.
- Benson Kipruto and Sutume Kebede are the defending champions.
- Kenya’s Dickson Chumba won the coveted title in the 2014 and 2018 editions.
The 2025 Abbott world marathon majors calendar kicks off on Sunday, March 2 with the much awaited Tokyo Marathon.
The organizers of Tokyo Marathon have already announced a stellar elite women’s and men’s fields that has the likes of Kenya’s Vincent Ngetich, Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei and former world record holder Brigid Kosgei.
Defending champions Benson Kipruto of Kenya and Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede are also set to light up the streets of Tokyo.
Benson Kipruto’s mission
Unlike Kebede, Kipruto is not only going to Japan to defend his title but also to match the record that his elder brother Dickson Chumba set before hanging his running shoes.
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Chumba made a name for himself during his running days, winning several high-profile marathons in different parts of the world.
However, besides his successes in courses such as Chicago, Chumba managed to secure two Tokyo Marathon victories. Those memorable wins came in the 2014 and 2018 editions of the race.
Therefore, Kipruto will be looking to win his second title on March 2, and match his elder brother’s success.
Strong opponents
However, that will not come easy for Kipruto since he will battle it out with some of the best road race runners, especially his fellow East Africans.
Ngetich, who finished third in the 2024 edition and the Ethiopian trio of Deresa Geleta, Tadese Takele and Birhanu Legese are some of the talented runners Kipruto will have to beat in order to match Chumba’s legacy.
Nonetheless, Kipruto, who trains in Kapsabet alongside the likes of 800m Olympic Games gold medalist Emmanuel Wanyonyi, one-time London Marathon winner Amos Kipruto and the reigning Valencia Marathon champion Sabastian Sawe has what it takes to triumph.
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The 33-year-old heads to Tokyo with a personal best of 2:02:16 that he set at the same course more than eight months ago.
On the other hand, Geleta, Kipkemoi, and Takele have lifetime bests of 2:02:38, 2:03:13 and 2:03:24 in that order.
Should Kipruto win the upcoming Tokyo Marathon title, he will increase his Abbott world marathon majors win to four.
The one-time shop keeper has already secured the Boston and Chicago Marathons titles, doing so in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
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