Peres Jepchirchir cuts the tape in the women's Marathon at the Tokyo World Championships/ HANDOUTAfter beating Tigst Assefa to the world title in Tokyo, 2020 Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir has now set her sights on reclaiming her women's-only world record from the Ethiopian star.
In Tokyo, Jepchirchir produced a masterclass, cutting the tape in 2:24:43 to edge out Assefa by just two seconds (2:24:45), with Uruguay’s Julia Paternain (2:27:23) completing the podium.
Speaking after touching down at the JKIA last Tuesday from her heroics in Tokyo, Jepchirchir declared her hunger to wrestle back the crown of world record holder, buoyed by her Tokyo heroics.
"I thank God for the world title. I am the former women's-only Marathon record holder but that was broken by Assefa. I am aiming to bring back home my women's-only record," Jepchirchir said.
The 31-year-old etched her name in the history books at the 2024 London Marathon, where she stormed to victory in 2:16:16, slicing Mary Keitany’s previous benchmark of 2:17:01 set on the same course in 2017.
But her record reign was short-lived.
At this year’s London Marathon, Assefa responded with a searing 2:15:50, obliterating Jepchirchir’s mark and setting a new bar for women-only races.
Jepchirchir, however, insisted she has unfinished business, though she is yet to pinpoint where her next big assault on the record will come.
"I have not run a lot this season, and there is still some time until December, so my management is looking for a race for me to run," she added.
She also underlined her fierce rivalry with Assefa, which she believes has fueled her rise to yet another global crown.
"She (Assefa) was the one I was watching, she is a strong lady and we had a few clashes last year. I believed that I had a lot of courage and strength to go for the World title and beat her," she added.
Last year, the two first met at the London Marathon with Jepchirchir having the upper hand after her world record.
Assefa settled for second place, clocking 2:16:2,3 with Joyciline Jepkosgei completing the podium with a 2:16:24 finish.
However, at the Paris Olympics, Jepchirchir fizzled out to a 14th-place finish, clocking 2:26:51.
Assefa claimed Olympic silver with a 2:22:58 finish behind Dutch star Sifan Hassan (2:22:55) with Hellen Obiri (2:23:10) in third place.
Jepchirchir dedicated her golden performance in Tokyo to all her Kenyan fans.
"I dedicate this gold to all Kenyans because they believed in me and sent me to Tokyo to represent them," she said.
The gold in Tokyo adds to Jepchirchir's already growing trophy cabinet that includes the Olympic 2020 title as well as three world Half Marathon titles from Cardiff 2016, Gydnia 2020 and Riga 2023.
In the Abbott World Marathon Majors, Jepchirchir boasts triumphs in New York 2021, Boston 2022 and London 2024
