Reigning European marathon champion Iliass Aouani smashed the Italian marathon record in the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday (1) morning.
In the same city in which he won a bronze medal in oppressive heat and humidity at the 2025 World Athletics Championships, Aouani finished sixth in 2:04:26 in a race won by Ethiopia’s Tadese Takele in 2:03:37.
Aouani ran a well-judged race, passing the halfway point in 11th-place in 62:00 before making steady progress up the leaderboard in the second half. Aouani sliced almost one minute from the previous Italian record of 2:05:26 set by Yohanes Chiappinelli in 2024 and moves to seventh on the European all-time list.
"I had won medals, sure, but not having yet combined them with a significant time performance bothered me. Now I have it, and I know I can at least manage 2:03, but it's good to improve step by step.
"Unfortunately, I had cramps in both calves in the last five kilometers, and in the last 2 kilometers in particular, it was something 'panic-like'; I thought I was going to fall. It's a small problem that we'll have to fix for the future," said Aouani as quoted by FIDAL.
Having secured the Italian marathon record, Aouani will now focus on the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham from 10-16 August although he is yet to decide if he will defend his marathon title in the Midlands city this summer.
"I'll return to Italy happy and full. I’m ready to focus on the European Championships in Birmingham in August over a distance which is yet to be defined, and the World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen in September," said Aouani.
Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei won the women’s race in a course record and Asian all-comers’ record of 2:14:29 while Norway’s Kristine Eikrem Engeset was the top European in 15th, clocking 2:28:57 on her marathon debut.
Updated European marathon all-time list
2:03:36 - Bashir Abdi (BEL), 2021
2:03:47 - Morhad Amdouni (FRA), 2024
2:04:03 - Amanal Petros (GER), 2025
2:04:16 - Kaan Kigen Ozbilen (TUR), 2019
2:04:20 - Abdi Nageeye (NED), 2025
2:04:24 - Awet Kibrab (NOR), 2025
2:04:26 - Iliass Aouani (ITA), 2026
2:04:40 - Tadesse Abraham (SUI), 2024
2:04:44 - Maru Teferi (ISR), 2024
2:04:53 - Gashau Ayele (ISR), 2024