Former marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe made a competitive return to the distance after 10 years, completing the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday.
The 51-year-old Briton crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 57 minutes, and 26 seconds, marking her first full marathon since concluding her illustrious professional career at the 2015 London Marathon.
Radcliffe held the marathon world record for 16 years after setting a time of 2:15:25 in 2003. Her record stood until Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei surpassed it in 2019. Remarkably, Radcliffe’s former record was still faster than the winning time in Tokyo, where Ethiopia’s Sutume Asefa Kebede defended her title with a time of 2:16:31.
Kenya’s Winfridah Moraa Moseti secured second place in 2:16:56, while Ethiopia’s Hawi Feysa finished third in 2:17:00.
In the men’s race, Ethiopia’s Tadese Takele claimed his first major marathon title, finishing in 2:03:23. Fellow Ethiopian Deresa Geleta took second place in 2:03:51, followed by Kenya’s Vincent Kipkemoi Ngetich in 2:04:00.
Ugandan double Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei finished ninth in the race.
Radcliffe is also set to compete in the Boston Marathon next month as part of her goal to complete all six major marathons.
“I turned 50 last year, now I’m 51, and one of my remaining goals has always been to complete the six marathon majors,” Radcliffe recently told Athletics Weekly.
During her professional career, only five majors existed, with Tokyo being added later. She never had the chance to compete there, and she also skipped Boston due to its close scheduling with London.
The six World Marathon Majors include London, Boston, Tokyo, Berlin, Chicago, and New York. Photo by Ed Costello from Brooklyn, NY, US, Wikimedia commons.