- Tokyo Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir won the women’s marathon gold medal at the 2025 World Athletics Championships on Sunday, September 14, in Tokyo, Japan.
- She unleashed a stunning final sprint at the Japan National Stadium to outpace world record holder Tigst Assefa, crossing the line in 2:24:43 – two seconds ahead of the Ethiopian star.
- It marked Kenya’s second medal of the championships, after Beatrice Chebet had secured the first in the 10,000m on the same day.
Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir claimed a gold medal on Sunday, September 14, in the women’s marathon, securing Kenya’s second gold at the ongoing 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
Just as she did four years ago during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Marathon in Sapporo, Jepchirchir once again rose to the occasion and this time adding a world championship title to her decorated career.
She unleashed a stunning final sprint at the Japan National Stadium to outpace world record holder Tigst Assefa, crossing the line in 2:24:43 – two seconds ahead of the Ethiopian star.
“I’m so happy with what I have done in Tokyo. It was so hot, so difficult. But I managed it. It was not easy. When I entered the stadium, I got a lot of energy from the fans,” Jepchirchir told the press after the race.
“I really did not expect to win. It was not my plan to sprint in the final metres. But when I saw I was 100m from the finish, I just started to kick and found some energy there.”
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Peres Jepchirchir vs world record holder Tigst Assefa
Under the blazing Tokyo sun, Jepchirchir and Assefa – whose 2:15:50 performance at the London Marathon in April remains the world-leading time kept a steady pace, choosing not to push for a record until around 15 kilometers remained.
Early in the race, the pack allowed Americans Susanna Sullivan and Jessica McClain to establish a modest lead, with Sullivan holding the front for most of the first 27 kilometers.
However, once the race favorites surged, the outcome became inevitable, they would break away and contest the medals among themselves.
Assefa attempted to strike first with about 200m remaining, surging to the front, but Jepchirchir summoned a late burst of speed to pull clear.
“When I took the lead with Jepchirchir, I guessed that it would come down to a sprint in the last 100m. It was the same at the Paris Olympics when I also finished second and lost to Sifan [Hassan]. But I don’t like to think I lost gold. I always try to be positive and think that I won the silver,” Assefa explained after the race.
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Behind them, the battle for bronze delivered a surprise outcome. Mexico-born, British-raised, and U.S.-educated Julia Paternain earned Uruguay’s first-ever World Championships medal in the event, clocking 2:27:23.
Paternain, who represented Great Britain until January, missed her personal best and national record by just 14 seconds. Early frontrunner Sullivan finished fourth.
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