Tokyo, March 5. Ethiopian Deso Gelmisa crowned the Tokyo Marathon this Sunday in the sixteenth edition of the race, which marked its return to normal in the participation of runners after four years impacted by the covid-19 pandemic.
Nearly 38,000 runners took part this Sunday in the Japanese capital’s marathon, the largest in the country, which took place on a normal scale after the disruptions caused by the health crisis, which led to the cancellation of the 2020 edition. and those after. the only participation of professional athletes.
The starting signal took place at 9 a.m. local time (0000 GMT) in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building on a cool, cloudy morning in the city.
Gelmisa, 25, crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 22 seconds, less than a second ahead of his compatriot Mohamed Esa, 22, who finished second with the same time.
Ethiopian Tsegaye Getachew also closed the podium just three seconds behind his teammates, with a time of 2:05:25.
Kenyan Titus Kipruto crossed the finish line in fourth place (2:05:32), followed by Canadian Cameron Levins (2:05:36).
Among the women, Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru took first place with a time of 2 hours, 16 minutes and 28 seconds, clearly leading the race ahead of Ethiopia’s Tsehay Gemechu (2:16:56), Ashete Bekere ( 2:19:11) and Workenesh Edessa (2:20:13).
The return to normality of the race was also noticed by the influx of spectators and the cheers in the streets, after in recent years citizens were asked to refrain from going to encourage the runners as a precaution. against the virus.