The World Championships have been serving up drama, one after another. Day 1 opened with fireworks across events, from the sprints to the 3000m steeplechase. Day 2 turned even wilder, with shocking falls in the women’s 1500m, the dethroning of American champions in both the men’s and women’s 100m, and Jimmy Gressier’s quirky finish in the 10,000m. Now, Day 3 has barely begun, but it has already delivered a spectacle, a breathtaking photo finish in the men’s marathon between Alphonce Simbu, Amanal Petros, and Iliass Aouani. No one has seen such a razor-thin ending in decades, but this year’s Worlds seem determined to rewrite history at every turn, and that’s not all, as Clayton Young scripted history for the US as well.

American Clayton Young, despite not winning the Marathon, clocked 2:10:43 for ninth, the same place he finished at last year’s Olympic marathon. His 9th place in the world marathon champs today is the highest finish by an American man at Worlds since Mark Plaatjes’ gold in 1993. But this isn’t the only history to have been made at the men’s marathon. History was written on the streets of Tokyo as the men’s marathon produced the closest finish ever seen at a World Championship. Alphonce Simbu of Tanzania dug deep in the final strides, snatching victory over Germany’s Amanal Petros by the slimmest of margins.

Both men were locked at 2:09:48, but it was Simbu who leaned just enough to claim the gold. For Petros, the heartbreak was evident. Just 50 meters from the line, he looked poised to capture the crown, only to see it slip away in a blink. Meanwhile, Italy’s Illiass Aouani, who entered the stadium shoulder-to-shoulder with the leading duo, had to settle for bronze in 2:09:53 after an epic three-way battle. Alphonce Simbu’s triumph was historic, earning Tanzania its first-ever World Championship gold, while Amanal Petros secured silver to become Germany’s first-ever medalist in a World Championship marathon.

The 2025 Tokyo World Championship marathon shattered the record set at the 2001 Edmonton World Championships, where Ethiopia’s Gezahegne Abera (2:12:42) narrowly outpaced Kenya’s Simon Biwott (2:12:43) by a single second, the closest finish of that era.

Now, more than two decades later, the margin has plunged into the zeros, rewriting the definition of a razor-thin victory. The marathon was nothing short of historic, shattering records with a breathtaking photo finish and a performance that also set a new American record by Clayton Young. But the drama didn’t end there—let’s take a closer look at how the rest of the field fared.

How did the men’s marathon go otherwise for Clayton Young and the others?

It would not be wrong to say that the men’s marathon produced the most dramatic finish in World Championship history—at least for now. The chaos began from the very start: Kenya’s Vincent Ngetich false-started, forcing the field to be recalled within the first 100 meters. On the second attempt, the race got off to a smooth start. With Ngetich – touted to be a rising star to watch out for ahead of the 2025 Sydney marathon – setting a brisk pace as he led the 87 runners out of the stadium, eventually finished 22nd in 2:13:28, having expended a lot of energy in the opening stages.

By the 14-kilometer mark, the race had claimed the front, and the pace was heating up. However, it was chaos for Clayton Young at 15k as he was clipped from behind, hitting the ground. Despite the fall, he got up and sprang back to his feet, flashing a thumbs-up to a nearby cameraman before rejoining the charging lead pack. Halfway through the marathon (1:05:19), the pack remained colossal—34 athletes separated by barely two seconds—yet the relentless 2:10 pace was slowly taking its toll. By 30k, the field had thinned to 19 runners.

Well, despite the high intensity run, the only casualty the marathon suffered was Tadese Takele of Ethiopia, who recorded the fastest time of the year with 2:03:23 at the Tokyo Marathon in March, was forced to withdraw from the race around the 33 kilometer mark likely due to heat related issues and pain. On the last leg, Simbu moved to the front, making sure that he won the race for his country. The marathon was nothing but chaos, but the end was perfect. What do you think? Drop us a comment.