TOKYO – Kenya’s two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge said “not every day is Christmas” after his Paris Games preparations hit a snag with a 10th-place finish at the Tokyo Marathon behind winner Benson Kipruto on March 3.

The 39-year-old Kipchoge faded badly at around the 20km mark and crossed the line in 2hr 6min 50sec.

Kenya’s Kipruto won in a course record 2:02:16, ahead of countrymen Timothy Kiplagat (2:02:55) and Vincent Ngetich (2:04:18).

Kipruto’s time was almost two minutes better than his previous personal best and made him the fifth-fastest marathon runner in events approved by World Athletics.

The race took place less than a month after world record holder Kelvin Kiptum died when his car crashed into a tree in Kenya.

Kipchoge will attempt to win his third straight Olympic marathon gold in August and he said it was “too early to say” what shape he will be in at the Paris Games.

“That’s how it is – not every day is Christmas Day,” he told Japan’s Nippon TV.

Kipchoge said “something happened in the middle of the race”, without elaborating.

He dropped back dramatically to leave Kipruto, Kiplagat and Ngetich fighting it out in the leading pack.

Kipchoge continued to struggle as the race wore on and had dropped out of the top 10 by the 35km mark.

“I will go back, relax and start training,” he said.

Ethiopia’s Sutume Asefa Kebede won the women’s race in 2:15:55 – also a course record.

Kenya’s defending champion Rosemary Wanjiru (2:16:14) was second ahead of Ethiopia’s reigning world champion Amane Beriso Shankule (2:16:58).

Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands was fourth after clocking 2:18:05.

Kiptum died at the age of 24 on Feb 11, just months after he beat Kipchoge’s world record with the 2:00:35 mark he set in Chicago.

Kiptum and Kipchoge were expected to face off for the first time at the Paris Olympics.

The Tokyo Marathon was Kipchoge’s first race since Kiptum’s death and he was on pace to reclaim the world record until he tumbled out of contention.

Kipruto took over the lead from Kiplagat at around the 30km mark and powered towards the finish for the eighth-fastest time in history.

Kipruto said he did not know what had happened to Kipchoge but declared himself “ready” for the Paris Games if he is chosen for Kenya’s team.

“I didn’t know we were on world record pace – there was no problem, we were ready for it,” said the 32-year-old, the 2021 Boston and 2022 Chicago marathons winner.

When asked if he could become the first person to run under two hours, Kipruto said: “Nothing is impossible, I will work on that.”

Kebede, 29, knocked more than two minutes off her personal best to claim the 10th-fastest women’s time in history.

“I was able to set a course record and I wasn’t expecting to do that,” she said.

Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion Hassan was competing in only her third marathon, having won her previous races in London and Chicago in 2023.

She has yet to decide what events she will compete in at the Paris Olympics but she said she was satisfied with her performance.

“I know what shape I’m in and it really doesn’t matter. I learnt a lot.”

Ichitaka Yamashita was the fastest Japanese man, finishing ninth in 2:06:31, while Hitomi Niiya took the local women’s honours with a sixth-placed finish in 2:21:50.  AFP, REUTERS