Germany and Italy both celebrated podium finishes in Tokyo as the men’s marathon at the World Athletics Championships ended in an extraordinary photo finish on Monday (15).
Germany’s Amanal Petros produced one of the races of his career, securing silver in 2:09:48 – the same official time as the winner, Tanzania’s Alphonce Felix Simbu, who edged ahead by just three-hundredths of a second in the tightest marathon finish in championship history.
Italy’s Iliass Aouani, five months on from his victory in the marathon at the 2024 European Running Championships in Brussels-Leuven in April, added a bronze in 2:09:53, further underlining his position as one of Europe’s breakthrough marathon runners.
"I can win"
For Petros, it is a second major medal, having taken half marathon silver at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships.
“This silver gives me energy and bigger motivation that I can win bigger competitions,” he said. “I was so sure I was winning, but Simbu surprised me. He kicked like crazy. I accept I lost today, but tomorrow I can win.”
Aouani, meanwhile, was equally proud of his first global medal. “I am proud and happy about the way I conducted the race,” said the Italian. “Behind this medal are a lot of frustrations, a lot of bad races, missed opportunities. To stand here with bronze shows the work pays off.”
Hot and humid
The battle for the medals was shaped in the closing kilometres after a large lead pack gradually thinned in hot and humid conditions. With 2km to go, Aouani, Petros and Simbu emerged as the trio to dispute the medals.
Inside the stadium, Petros launched what looked like a winning surge, only for Simbu to claw back ground and snatch victory on the line.
Simbu made history as Tanzania’s first global champion, but the race also highlighted the rising strength of European distance running, with Petros and Aouani joining Nadia Battocletti (women’s 10,000m silver), Jimmy Gressier (men’s 10,000m gold) and Andreas Almgren (men’s 10,000m bronze) as world medallists from Tokyo 2025.