Tanzania's Alphonce Felix Simbu (left) crosses the finish line to win the men's marathon final ahead of second placed Germany's Amanal Petros at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 15, 2025.
Simbu becomes the first athlete from Tanzania to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships or at the Olympic Games.
The photo finish credited them with the same time, but Simbu pushed his torso past the finish line, earning him the gold medal.
A day after Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir had upstaged Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa in a thrilling homestretch sprint to win gold medal in women’s marathon at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Tanzania’s Alphonse Simbu treated fans to hair-raising moments as he beat Germany’s Amanal Petros to gold medal by three hundredths of a second.
It was the closest finish to a marathon race in the history of the World Athletics Championships, as both Simbu and Petros were credited the same finish time of 2 hours, four minutes and 58 seconds. Simbu, 32, becomes the first athlete from Tanzania to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships or at the Olympic Games.
