'Never seen something like this' - Photo-finish drama in incredible marathon finale between Alphonce Simbu and Amanal Petros at World Championships
Published 15/09/2025 at 13:55 GMT+1
React to this story
The men's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo featured a dramatic finish that saw Tanzania’s Alphonce Simbu and Germany’s Amanal Petros separated by just 0.03 seconds. Neither knew who crossed the line first and the photo-finish machine was required to declare a winner. Petros said afterwards that he has "never seen something like this in a marathon".
'Who gets the gold?' - Simbu pips Petros to marathon victory in dramatic photo finish!
Video credit: TNT Sports
In the 100m it is common for a race to be decided by the slimmest of margins. There is, after all, only so much distance you can gain on a rival over 10 seconds.
But in a marathon, it is very different.
Run over 26.2 miles and taking around two hours to complete for the elite athletes, there is ample time to pull clear.
That is why the finale to the men’s marathon at the World Athletics Championships was one of the most dramatic in recent memory.
So close was the finish between Tanzania’s Alphonce Simbu and Germany’s Amanal Petros that neither knew who had won as they crossed the line.
There was just 0.03 seconds between the pair, closer than the gap between the winners and second place in the men's and women's 100m finals, and it needed the photo-finish machine to decide a winner.
Although Petros threw himself across the line in a bid to come out on top, it was Simbu who was declared the champion.
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2025/09/15/image-5697b727-f2bb-466a-aafb-c02dabc59916.jpeg)
The photo finish between Alphonce Simbu of Tanzania (L) and Amanal Petros of Germany (R)
Image credit: Getty Images
"I told myself, I was not going to give up," said Simbu, who was trailing down the home straight.
"When we entered the stadium, I was not sure if I would win. I did not know if I won. But when I saw the video screens and me on the top of the results, I felt relieved."
Simbu’s win was historic as he became the first Tanzanian to claim a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships.
Petros, who was gritting his teeth in the closing stretches in a desperate bid to see off Simbu, said he had to be "thankful" for silver.
"I have never seen something like this in a marathon," he said. "It’s like the 100 metres. 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."
The women’s marathon was also decided in a sprint finish as Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir pipped Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa by just two seconds.
Great Britain’s Emile Cairess suffered disappointment as he withdrew from the marathon with around three of the 26.2 miles remaining.
Cairess, who came fourth in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games marathon, struggled in the hot and humid conditions in Tokyo.
"I tried my best, I feel I just got too hot, simple as that really, conditions were so tough, it’s just really hot," said Cairess.
"When I stopped, I just took ages to just feel all right again. I’ve cooled down now, but it took a while.
"I used all the stations to be diligent with the ice and the sponges and whilst it helped, it just still got too hot.
"I felt pretty good the first 25k, and then 30k I was still feeling good, and then about 32k I just really suddenly didn’t feel very good anymore.
"I did a decent amount of prep for the conditions, as much as I could balancing it with training. I’ve not known conditions like it, but this is only my fourth marathon.
"Paris was a hot one but it was more warm and this was very, very humid. I did the best I could."
How to watch the 2025 World Athletics Championships
TNT Sports will broadcast 30 hours of live television coverage from the World Athletics Championships, available in addition to a daily highlights programme. Streaming subscribers will also be able to watch nearly 50 events live and on-demand via discovery+.
TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.
You can subscribe to TNT Sports through discovery+, BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement