World Athletics Championships 2025: Peres Jepchirchir Stuns Tigist Assefa to Clinch Marathon Gold, Ending Kenya’s 6-Year Drought

Tokyo 2020 Olympic marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir delivered a sensational performance to win the women’s marathon at the World Athletics Championships in 2:24:43.
The victory marks Kenya’s first women’s marathon gold since 2019, a result Jepchirchir described as a testament to teamwork and preparation heading into this year’s championship in Tokyo.

The race came down to a thrilling showdown in the final 200 meters, where Jepchirchir surged past Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa, the reigning world record-holder, in a dramatic sprint finish. Assefa had to settle for silver in 2:24:45, while Uruguay’s Julia Paternain claimed bronze in 2:27:23, collapsing across the line in sheer exhaustion.

Full Women’s Marathon Results – Tokyo 2025

1. Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) – 2:24:43
2. Tigist Assefa (ETH) – 2:24:45
3. Julia Paternain (URU) – 2:27:23
4. Susanna Sullivan (USA) – 2:28:17 SB
5. Alisa Vainio (FIN) – 2:28:32 SB
6. Shitaye Eshete (BRN) – 2:28:41
7. Kana Kobayashi (JPN) – 2:28:50 SB
8. Jessica McClain (USA) – 2:29:20 SB
9. Fionnuala McCormack (IRL) – 2:30:16
10. Dolshi Tesfu (ERI) – 2:30:41 SB
11. Laura Luengo (ESP) – 2:30:55
12. Stella Chesang (UGA) – 2:31:13
13. Sayaka Sato (JPN) – 2:31:15
14. Cuomu Ciren (CHN) – 2:31:38
15. Nóra Szabó (HUN) – 2:31:41
16. Eunice Chebichii Chumba (BRN) – 2:32:22
17. Anne Luijten (NED) – 2:32:27
18. Jackline Cherono (KEN) – 2:33:17
19. Solange Jesus (POR) – 2:33:24
20. Rebecca Lonedo (ITA) – 2:33:40

Jepchirchir’s triumph secures Kenya’s second gold medal of the championships and further cements her reputation as one of the greatest marathoners of her generation.

Her decorated career includes becoming the only person ever to win the Olympic, Boston, and New York City marathons in an eight-month span (2021–22), followed by victory at the 2024 London Marathon where she set the women’s-only world record.

Assefa reclaimed that record at the 2025 London Marathon, setting up the blockbuster duel in Tokyo, and Jepchirchir proved once again why she belongs among the all-time greats.