History beckons for defending champions in Tokyo

Tadese Takele will return to Japan next month to defend his Tokyo Marathon crown.

The Ethiopian, who is just 23, won last year in an impressive 2:03:23 – the fifth fastest time ever run in Tokyo. He was a comfortable winner, finishing 28 seconds ahead of compatriot Deresa Geleta.

Takele faces stiff opposition in his quest to become only the second person to win back-to-back Tokyo Marathons. Birhanu Legese, who won in 2019 and 2020, is the only athlete to achieve the feat.

Two recent Abbott World Marathon Major winners will surely have a say in who triumphs in Tokyo on March 1.

Alex Mutiso, who won in London two years ago, was narrowly denied a second Major win in New York last time out when Benson Kipruto beat him in a dramatic photo finish.

The Kenyan makes his debut in Tokyo alongside Milkesa Mengesha who won the BWM BERLIN-MARATHON in 2024. He comes into Tokyo in good form having won in Shanghai at the end of November.

Timothy Kiplagat, who came second in Tokyo in 2024, will also expect to be in the shake up.

Local interest will centre on Suguru Osako who set a new national record of 2:04:55 at the Valencia Marathon in December.

Former record holder Kengo Suzuki will also take part alongside Ryota Kondo and Tsubasa Ichiyama, who impressed in the 2024 Olympics and 2025 World Championships respectively.

The women’s race looks to be a shootout between a quartet of Major winners - Hawi Feysa, Sutume Kebede, Brigid Kosgei and Rosemany Wanjiru.

Ethiopian star Kebede knows all about Tokyo having won the previous two Majors in the Japanese capital. No runner has ever won three Tokyo Marathons in succession.

Former record holder Kosgei has also won in Tokyo, as has Wanjiru, who impressed everyone in Berlin by winning in the searing heat.

Feysa finished third in Tokyo last year but broke her Majors duck with an eye-catching win in Chicago in October.

The outstanding Marcel Hug is the leading name in the men’s wheelchair field and he will have his eye on history in Tokyo.

The Swiss athlete heads to Japan having won every Major since Boston. Victory in Tokyo would see him become the first person in history to hold all seven Major titles.

Last year’s winner Tomoki Suzuki will be out to delight his home crowd and cause an upset while David Weir, who finished second to Hug in New York, should also be in the mix.

The women’s race appears closer to call with Elite Series champion Susannah Scaroni going head-to-head with Catherine Debrunner.

Scaroni was the outstanding athlete last year but it was Debrunner who came out on top when the pair did battle in Tokyo last year.

Elsewhere, Manuela Schär, a four-time winner in Tokyo, has tasted victory as recently as September in Berlin, while Madison de Rozario, a Major winner and Paralympic champion, is set to return.