Kenyan marathoner Benson Kipruto set to defend Tokyo Marathon title
Kipruto won last year's race with a course record time of 2:02:16, leading a Kenyan sweep of the podium as Timothy Kiplagat and Vincent Kipkemoi finished second and third with times of 2:02:55 and 2:04:18 respectively.
Kenyan marathoner Benson Kipruto will be aiming to defend his Tokyo Marathon title after returning to the Japanese capital for this year's edition of the race which is set to take place on Sunday. The race will begin at 3:10 am EAT.
Kipruto won last year's race with a course record time of 2:02:16, leading a Kenyan sweep of the podium as Timothy Kiplagat and Vincent Kipkemoi finished second and third with times of 2:02:55 and 2:04:18 respectively. While Kipkemoi will also feature in tomorrow's race, Kiplagat will be missing in action as he will be preparing for next month's London Marathon.
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Victory for the 33-year old Kipruto, who won bronze in the marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, will see him become only the second athlete after the Ethiopian Birhanu Legese who won the Tokyo Marathon in 2019 and 2020.
However, Kipruto will not expect an easy ride in Tokyo as Legese, who is only the only two-time winner of the race, will be competing tomorrow.
Legese's compatriot, Deresa Geleta (2:02:38), is also expected to provide stiff competition as along with Kipruto (2:02:16) and Legese (2:02:48), he is the only other athlete with a sub-2:02 personal best times in the marathon.
Also featuring in the elite men's list is the reigning 10,000 metres world and Olympic champion, the Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei, who will be desperate to conquer Tokyo Marathon tomorrow after ranking 37th during his marathon debut in Valencia in 2023.
The race also features three other Kenyans, Titus Kipruto (2:04:54), Vincent Raimoi (2:07:01), and marathon debutant Geoffrey Toroitich.
The women's race, featuring nine athletes with sub-2:19 personal best times, is also expected to be competitive.
Kenya's Rosemary Wanjiru and Ethiopia's Sutume Kebede, who have dominated the women's race in the last two years, will be competing for top honours yet again.
While Wanjiru, 30, won the race in 2023, Kebede, 30, will go into tomorrow's race as the favourite have smashed the course record last year when she won with a time of 2:15:55. Wanjiru was second in last year's race with a time of 2:16:14, the third fastest time in the history of the race.
Victory for either Wanjiru or Kebede will see them become only the second female athlete after the Ethiopian Birhane Dibaba (2015 and 2018) to win the Tokyo Marathon more than once.
Other strong contenders in the women's race include Kenya's Winfridah Moseti, who ranked second in last year's Hamburg Marathon with a personal best time of 2:18:25, and her compatriot Magdalyne Masai, who also ran to a personal best time of 2:18:58 to finish second in the 2024 Frankfurt Marathon.
From the Ethiopian side, Tigist Ketema, who in 2024 ran the fastest marathon debut by a woman when she won that year's Dubai Marathon with a time 2:16:07, will also be out to make a statement as will her fellow sub-2:19 compatriots – 2024 Frankfurt Marathon winner Hawi Feysa (2:17:25), 2021 London Marathon runner-up Degitu Azimeraw (2:17:58), 2022 world champion Gotytom Gebreslase (2:18:11), and Mestawut Fikir (2:18:48).
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