Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir won the world championships marathon by two seconds over Ethiopian Tigst Assefa in what turned into a duel between the two most decorated women in the field.
Jepchirchir, the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist, overtook Assefa, the second-fastest female marathoner in history, in the final 100 meters of their finishing lap inside the stadium after spending nearly 26 miles on the roads of Tokyo.
Jepchirchir clocked 2 hours, 24 minutes, 43 seconds, in her first race since placing 14th in the 2024 Olympic marathon.
Julia Paternain took bronze to become the first Uruguayan to win a track and field medal at a worlds or an Olympics.
TRACK AND FIELD WORLDS: Results | Broadcast Schedule
American Susanna Sullivan was fourth. She was alone in the lead for more than 10 miles before being passed by a group of four in the 18th mile.
In an eight-month span in 2021 and 2022, Jepchirchir became the only person to win the Olympic, Boston and New York City marathons in a career. That Olympic marathon was held in Sapporo, Japan.
Jepchirchir also won the London Marathon in 2024, breaking the women’s only world record. Assefa, the Paris Olympic marathon silver medalist, then snatched the women’s only world record to win the 2025 London Marathon.
Worlds continue Sunday inside the stadium with women’s and men’s 100m semifinals and finals (5 a.m. ET, CNBC and Peacock) and on the roads with the men’s marathon (6:30 p.m. ET, CNBC and Peacock).
