Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei has secured his qualification for the 2025 World Athletics Championships after clocking 2:05:59 at the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday.
The time, a three-minute improvement from his marathon debut in Valencia last year, saw him finish ninth in a highly competitive race. His compatriot Stephen Kissa finished 25th in 2:09:34, falling short of the qualification standard.
The marathon, a World Athletics Platinum Label event, was dominated by Ethiopia, with Tadese Takele securing his first major marathon title in a world-leading 2:03:23.
The 2021 World U20 steeplechase silver medalist made his decisive move at around 38km, surging past Kenya’s Vincent Kipkemoi and fellow Ethiopian Deresa Geleta, who finished second and third in 2:03:51 and 2:04:00, respectively.
In the women’s race, defending champion Sutume Kebede made history by becoming the first back-to-back winner of the Tokyo Marathon women’s title, clocking 2:16:31.
She set an aggressive early pace but slowed in the second half, holding off Kenya’s Winfridah Moraa Moseti, who finished second in a personal best 2:16:56.
Ethiopia’s Hawi Feysa placed third in 2:17:00, rounding out a historic race where all top three women ran under 2:17.
For Cheptegei, the Tokyo Marathon was a key milestone in his transition from track dominance to marathon racing.
Running in the second group for much of the race, he took control of the chase pack around the 35km mark, before finishing strong to claim a top-10 position and secure his ticket to the World Championships.
Despite a valiant effort, Kissa struggled to keep up in the latter stages and finished well outside the qualification zone.
His 2:09:34 was far off his personal best of 2:04:48, leaving him with work to do if he hopes to make the World Championships later this year.
With his qualification now confirmed, Cheptegei will return to Tokyo later this year with a new challenge—competing against the world’s best on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
