Alphonce Felix Simbu grabbed gold in a nail biting finish at a major championship marathon on Monday (September 15, 2025), just beating German Amanal Petros in a thrilling race to the finish.

He securing Tanzania’s first ever world title.

Simbu and Petros both clocked in at two hours, nine minutes, and 48 seconds, with the German snagging the silver after leading the pack as they entered Tokyo’s National Stadium.

0.05-second difference between Simbu and Petros in the men’s 100m final

This was even tighter than the 0.05-second difference between the gold and silver medalists in the men’s 100m final on Sunday, September 15, 2025.

The bronze went to Italian Iliass Aouani, finishing in 2:09.53.

“As we walked into the stadium, I wasn’t sure if I would come out on top. I had no idea if I had actually won. But when I spotted the video screens showing me leading the results, I felt a wave of relief”, said 33 year old Simbu.

The finish was tighter than at the 2001 championships in Edmonton, where Ethiopian Gezahegne Abera narrowly beat Kenyan Simon Biwott by just one second.

In the 1996 Atlanta Games, South African Josia Thugwane clinched the closest Olympic men’s marathon victory, finishing just three seconds ahead of South Korean Lee Bong-ju.

Simbu made a comeback for East African distance running just a day after Frenchman Jimmy Gressier became the first man from outside the region to win the 10,000 km title in over 40 years.

This was Simbu’s first global title, having previously secured a bronze in the marathon at the London world championships in 2017 and coming in second at the Boston marathon in April.

DISCLAIMER: This article is derived from information available in the public domain.

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