The 2025 Beijing Marathon delivered a landmark performance this week-end, with Ethiopia’s Lemi Berhanu Hayle and Anchinalu Dessie Genaneh claiming victory in the men’s and women’s races.
Hayle successfully defended his title in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 10 seconds, outpacing last year’s time by more than a minute.
Fellow Ethiopian Desalegn Girma Debel finished second, while Han Il Ryong of the DPRK secured third. In the women’s race, Genaneh triumphed in 2 hours, 26 minutes and 8 seconds, narrowly edging Kenya’s Marion Jepkonga Kibor by just seven seconds, with Ethiopia’s Kuftu Tahir Dadiso placing third.
This year’s event saw a record field of 32,000 participants, running from Tiananmen Square to the Beijing Olympic Park in the dual Olympic host city. The marathon also set a new benchmark for elite performance, as more than 4,700 runners completed the 42.195-kilometre course in under three hours, surpassing last year’s record of 3,004. The strong turnout and exceptional finishing times underscored the event’s growing global profile and the rising competitive spirit among distance runners.