Simbu takes Tanzania’s first global title with marathon victory in Tokyo

Alphonce Felix Simbu made history in more than one way when winning the men’s marathon at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.

Not only did he become the first athlete from Tanzania to win a global title, he also achieved the smallest winning margin ever in a global championships marathon, having outsprinted Germany’s Amanol Petros in the closing stages to finish just 0.03 ahead.

It was only in the closing kilometres that the large lead pack whittled down to just a handful of contenders. With one kilometre to go, Simbu and Petros ran alongside Uganda’s Abel Chelangat, Italy’s Iliass Aouani, and Israel’s Haimro Alame. By the time they reached the stadium, it was down to three men: Petros, Simbu and Aouani, in that order.

With 200 metres to go, Petros started kicking for home and appeared relatively safe in the lead. But in the closing 30 metres, Simbu started closing in and the Tanzanian caught his German rival just before the line. Both men were credited with times of 2:09:48. Aouani came through to take bronze in 2:09:53.