Tokyo Marathon: thrilling 3-way sprint finish as Deso Gelmisa leads Ethiopian clean sweep
- He holds off Mohamed Esa to win by less than a second, with Tsegaye Getachew only three seconds further back
- Rosemary Wanjiru of Kenya is a dominant winner of the women’s race
Ethiopia’s Deso Gelmisa outsprinted compatriot Mohamed Esa down the final stretch to claim a thrilling victory in Sunday’s Tokyo Marathon.
The 25-year-old Gelmisa clocked a winning time of 2 hours, 5 minutes and 22 seconds as he crossed the finish line in the capital’s Marunouchi district less than a second ahead of Esa.
Tsegaye Getachew was three seconds off the pace as he completed a men’s podium sweep for Ethiopia.
In a bunched finish, Titus Kipruto of Kenya was only a further seven seconds slower in fourth, followed by a four-second gap to Cameron Levins of Canada, who had Ethiopia’s Deme Tadu Abate two seconds behind him in sixth.
Levins’ time of 2:05:36 was a new North American record.
Paris Olympics hopeful Ichitaka Yamashita was the first Japanese runner home, finishing seventh in 2:05:51, while sixth-placed Tokyo Olympic finisher Suguru Osako was ninth in 2:06:13.
Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru won the women’s race in 2:16:28, ahead of Ethiopia’s Tsehay Gemechu in second in 2:16:56, with her compatriot Ashete Bekere finishing third as she clocked 2:19:11.