Ethiopian Sutume Assefa and Kenya’s Benson Kipruto set respective Japanese all-comers’ records of 2:15:55 and 2:02:16 to win at the Tokyo Marathon – a World Athletics Platinum Label road race.

Both secured convincing victories from strong fields in the Japanese capital. Ethiopian world champion Sutume triumphed ahead of Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru and Amane Beriso while the 2022 Chicago Marathon champion, won ahead of Timothy Kiplagat and Vincent Kipkemoi Ngetich in a Kenyan top three.

Sutume and Kipruto improved the records of 2:16:02 by Brigid Kosgei and 2:02:40 by Eliud Kipchoge in 2022. 

The women’s race, seven athletes – Sutume, Wanjiru and Amane plus multiple Olympic and world track gold medallist Sifan Hassan, Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, Betsy Saina and Buzunesh Getachew – ran together in a group alongside male runners and reached 15km in 48:38.

Sifan Hassan was towards the back of that pack at 20km – reached first by defending champion Wanjiru in 1:04:45, with Hassan four seconds behind.

Hassan, who won the London and Chicago marathons last year, had let them get away by 28km but she carried on, running solo.

The podium seemed decided at 30km, reached by Wanjiru, Sutume  and Amane in 1:36:43, and after Beriso was dropped, Sutume also managed to shake off Wanjiru and sealed victory over the closing kilometers.

Sutume won in 2:15:55, taking more than two minutes off the PB she set in Seoul in 2022 to move to No.8 on the world all-time list. Wanjiru was second in 2:16:14 and Beriso was third in 2:16:58.

Hassan held on to fourth place, clocking 2:18:05, while Saina was fifth in 2:19:17 and Japan’s Hitomi Niiya sixth in 2:21:50.