Paulus forced out of historic marathon

Road running
  • 5 Hours Ago
Namibian national record holder Daniel Paulus failed to complete the men’s marathon at the Athletics World Championship in Tokyo, Japan, yesterday.

According to national road-running coach Robert Kaxuxuena, a strain in Paulus’ hamstring after 36 kilometres forced him to retire from the race.

According to Kaxuxuena, Paulus is receiving treatment and is expected to recover soon.

At the front of the men’s race, Alphonce Felix Simbu snatched gold in the first photo finish at a major championship marathon, edging out Germany' Amanal Petros in a dramatic sprint to the line, to give Tanzania its maiden world title.

The photo finish showed the 42.195 km race was decided by three hundredths of a second as Simbu surged past the diving Petros at the line – closer than the 0.05-second gap between the gold and silver medallists in the men's 100m final on Sunday.

Simbu and Petros were given the same time of two hours, nine minutes and 48 seconds, the German taking the silver despite heading the field as the leaders entered Tokyo's National Stadium. Italian Iliass Aouani took the bronze in 2:09.53.

"When we entered the stadium, I was not sure if I would win," the 33-year-old Simbu said. "I did not know if I had won. But when I saw the video screens and me on the top of the results, I felt relieved.

"I made history today - the first Tanzanian gold medal at a world championships."

The finish was closer than at the 2001 championships in Edmonton, when Ethiopian Gezahegne Abera edged Kenyan Simon Biwott by a single second.

South African Josia Thugwane won the closest Olympic men's marathon by three seconds from South Korean Lee Bong-ju at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

It was a first global title for Simbu, who won bronze in the marathon at the London world championships in 2017 and finished second in the Boston marathon in April.

Simbu struck back for East African distance running the morning after Frenchman Jimmy Gressier became the first man born outside the region to win the 10 000km title for more than 40 years.

Photos Getty Images