2025 World Athletics Championships: Photo finish needed to crown Alphonce Felix Simbu as men's marathon winner

Photo finishes are normally reserved for incredibly fast events where it's impossible to tell who won with the naked eye. They usually don't happen at the end of marathons.

But a photo finish was necessary to determine the winner of the men's marathon at the 2025 World Athletics Championships on Sunday. As the race came down to the wire, Tanzania's Alphonce Felix Simbu made a final push to try and overtake Germany's Amanal Petros.

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Simbu found his stride, matching Petros step-by-step at the end, causing the pair to hit the finish line at an identical 2:09.48. In order to determine a winner, a short review was necessary. After looking at the footage, it was determined Simbu completed his comeback. He won the marathon by just 0.03 seconds, the closest ever margin at the world championships.

During the final stretch of the event, three men pulled away from the rest of the pack. Simbu, Petros and Italy’s Iliass Aouani. As the trio entered the stadium for the last push, Aouani led the pack. But he was overtaken by Petros. It appeared as though Petros would take the win, but Simbu found an extra gear at the end to pick up the narrow victory. Aouani wound up finishing third.

There was a lot at stake for the top-two finishers. Germany had never won a gold medal in a running event at the world championships, giving Petros extra motivation to finish in first. For Simbu, however, winning would give Tanzania its first ever gold medal at the world championships.

Simbu reflected on that accomplishment following the win, per Olympics.com.

"I made history today, the first Tanzanian gold medal at a world championships," Simbu said after his victory. "I remember in 2017, at the world championships in London, I won bronze. Then I ran many times but never got any medals, so finally it is here. When I arrived here, I told myself I was not going to give up. I just stayed with the group; it helped me, and it ended really well. Just look at the finish and the kick."

The win continues a strong run for Simbu, who finished second at the 2025 Boston Marathon. Simbu has competed in the men's marathon at the Olympics twice, finishing fifth in 2016 and seventh in 2020. He did not compete in the Olympics in 2024, but is positioning himself to be one of the favorites in the event at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.