Greatest-ever finish in marathon? World Athletics Championship race leaves fans stunned

Did the World Athletics Championship 2025 have the greatest ever finish in marathon history? It kind of looks like it. After a photo-finish in the women's event, the men's marathon on Monday, September 15 saw one of the most dramatic finishes of all time. Tanzania's Alphonce Felix Simbu snatched gold in the first-ever photo finish at a major championship marathon, edging out Germany’s Amanal Petros in a dramatic race to the line. With the win, Simbu gave Tanzania its maiden world title.

The photo finish revealed the 42.195km race was decided by just three hundredths of a second as Simbu surged past the diving Petros at the line — a margin even closer than the 0.05-second gap between gold and silver medallists in the men’s 100m final on Sunday.

Both Simbu and Petros were given the same finishing time of two hours, nine minutes and 48 seconds, with the German taking silver despite leading as the runners entered Tokyo’s National Stadium. Italian Iliass Aouani claimed bronze in 2:09.53.

“When we entered the stadium, I was not sure if I would win,” said the 33-year-old Simbu. “I did not know if I had won. But when I saw the video screens and my name at the top of the results, I felt relieved.

“I made history today — the first Tanzanian gold medal at a world championships.”

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Simbu's Right Hand Makes The Difference

The difference maker was Simbu's right hand, which touched the rope while going up, while Petros strides took his body first over the finish line. It meant that the German finished short by a whisker despite putting in a last ditch effort after seeing Simbu pass him in the last 5 meters of the race.

The finish was even closer than the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton, where Ethiopian Gezahegne Abera edged Kenyan Simon Biwott by a full second.

South African Josia Thugwane holds the record for the closest Olympic men’s marathon finish, winning by three seconds over South Korean Lee Bong-ju at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

This was Simbu’s first global title, adding to his bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships in London and his runner-up finish at the Boston Marathon in April.

Simbu’s victory was a proud moment for East African distance running, coming the morning after Frenchman Jimmy Gressier became the first man born outside the region in over 40 years to win the 10,000m title.

The early morning race had an unusual start for a marathon when Kenya’s Vincent Kipkemoi Ngetich jumped the gun, forcing a restart — a moment more reminiscent of sprint events than endurance racing.

More surprises followed as two of the fastest runners, Ethiopia’s Tadese Takele and Deresa Geleta — gold and silver medallists at the Tokyo City Marathon in March — dropped off with less than 10km remaining.

For much of the race, the leading pack included around two dozen runners, roughly 90 minutes in. Gradually, the field thinned in the morning heat, leaving Simbu, Petros, and Aouani clear of the rest as they entered the stadium.

Eritrean-born Petros seemed set to bring the title back to Europe until Simbu found a final burst of speed to overtake him at the finish line.

“It’s like the 100 metres,” said Petros. “Coming into the finish I was thinking about winning, so a bit of me is feeling very sad.

“But I have to accept it. As an athlete, you have to learn for tomorrow, train hard, keep going, and be thankful for the silver.”