TOKYO, Japan, September 14, 2025 – Having pulled out of this year’s London Marathon with a last-minute injury, Peres Jepchirchir says winning the world title washes away the pain of that heartbreak back in April.
Jepchirchir was all smiles on Sunday morning after an all-mighty sprint to the finish line during which she outwitted Olympic silver medalist Tigst Assefa to win her first ever world title in the women’s 42km.
In her post-race interview, the two-time world half marathon champion reminisced on when her doctor broke the bad news that she wouldn’t be in the perfect physical shape to defend her London Marathon title.
“I was really motivated to go to London and successfully defend my title but then the injury came and the doctor told me it would be best to take some time out and rest. Had I chosen to go ahead and run in London, I would have suffered a stress fracture. In the days that followed, I was so emotionally down,” Jepchirchir recalled.
It was poetic justice for the 31-year-old who clocked 2:24:43, ahead of Assefa who had to make peace with silver after timing 2:24:45 in second place.
There was also another piece of history as Uruguayan Julian Paternain who clinched her country’s first-ever medal in the road races, clocking 2:27:23 to bag bronze.
However, all the headlines were about Jepchirchir who also won the Olympic title in the same city, four years ago.
At the last edition of the quadrennial games in Paris, she relinquished her crown in heartbreaking fashion after finishing 14th.
Indeed, the past eight months or so have not been kind on Jepchirchir.
However, Sunday seemed to be the end of her wilderness period as she added another medal to her trophy cabinet.
“I am so happy to have won today…this is my first ever world title and it is one I never expected to win coming into today’s race. I was praying that God would give me the energy to run today after watching Beatrice (Chebet) win gold in the women’s 10,000m on Saturday,” she said.
The world title could be the spark for another blazing run for Jepchirchir who is hoping for one more race before the end of the year.
“This is my first race this year so I want to compete in one more marathon. I will sit down with my manager and discuss where next to run,” she said.
For now, Kenya’s road race queen will be savouring her hard-earned glory after months of tribulation.
