Champions will collide on the streets of Tokyo this Sunday as the first Abbott World Marathon Major of 2026 launches the series’ 20th anniversary year in spectacular style at the Tokyo Marathon.
With more than 2,000 Six Star hopefuls set to complete their journeys and ideal racing conditions forecast, the stage is set for a thrilling day in Japan’s capital.
Kebede Chasing a Historic Three-Peat
The women’s race promises fireworks, led by Ethiopia’s formidable Sutume Kebede. The defending champion is on the brink of becoming the first athlete ever to win three consecutive Tokyo Marathon titles.
Kebede shattered the course record in 2024 and returned last year to stamp her authority again, storming to victory in 2:16:31 — a full 25 seconds clear of the field. Calm, clinical, and devastatingly consistent, she enters Sunday as the woman to beat.
But challengers are lining up. Hawi Feysa and Rosemary Wanjiru, third and fifth respectively in Tokyo last year, both captured Major titles in 2025 — in Chicago and Berlin — and arrive with growing confidence.
Adding further intrigue is former world record holder Brigid Kosgei. The Kenyan star last tasted Major success in Tokyo in 2022. A return to the top step of the podium on the same course would provide a poetic ending to her recent drought.
Takele Targets Back-to-Back Glory
The men’s race shapes up as a high-caliber duel — possibly a three-man shootout.
Defending champion Tadese Takele returns at just 23 years old, having clocked a stunning 2:03:23 to win here in 2025 — the fifth-fastest time ever recorded on this course. His victory margin of 28 seconds underlined his authority, and now he aims to become only the second man to defend a Tokyo title after Birhanu Legese achieved the feat in 2019 and 2020.
Standing in his way is Kenya’s Alex Mutiso, a proven Major champion who won in London two years ago and was edged out in a dramatic photo finish by Benson Kipruto in New York last November. Mutiso’s Tokyo debut adds fresh intrigue.
Also in the mix is Ethiopia’s Milkesa Mengesha, winner of the Berlin Marathon in 2024 and victorious in Shanghai late last year. He arrives in sharp form and hungry for another Major crown.
Home hopes will rest on Suguru Osako, who set a national record of 2:04:55 in Valencia in December. Fellow Japanese contenders Kengo Suzuki, Ryota Kondo, and Tsubasa Ichiyama will look to ignite the home crowds.
Wheelchair Stars Set for Showdowns
In the wheelchair races, history is also within reach.
Swiss superstar Marcel Hug arrives having won every Major since Boston. Victory in Tokyo would secure a calendar clean sweep and make him the first athlete since Sydney joined the series to hold all seven Major titles simultaneously. Yet Japan’s defending champion Tomoki Suzuki will be determined to protect home turf.
The women’s wheelchair contest features an electrifying rivalry between Elite Series champion Susannah Scaroni and Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner, who triumphed in their Tokyo clash last year.
They’ll also contend with four-time Tokyo winner Manuela Schär, Paralympic champion Madison de Rozario, and Britain’s Eden Rainbow-Cooper, a Boston champion eager to reassert herself.
Berlin Marathon 2025, 21.09.2025
Photo: Marvin Ibo Güngör
Six Star Dreams Realised
Beyond the elite battles, Sunday will be a celebration of global endurance. A remarkable 2,159 runners will complete their Six Star Journey in Tokyo — representing 87 nationalities. Among them are 805 athletes from the United States, 203 from Great Britain, and 108 from Canada.
Four runners from Azerbaijan, Grenada, Malawi, and San Marino will become their nations’ first-ever Six Star Finishers. The oldest finisher is 82 years and 11 months; the youngest, just 21 years and seven months. Sixty-seven athletes will earn their Six Star Medal for at least the second time, and six runners will mark their birthday in unforgettable fashion — at the finish line.
As Tokyo opens a landmark year for the Majors, records, redemption stories, and lifelong dreams are all poised to unfold. Sunday promises not just fast times — but unforgettable moments.