Kipchoge, who defended his marathon title at Sapporo at the Tokyo Games last year, fell short of his world record mark by just over a minute in his debut Tokyo Marathon.

Kipchoge’s compatriot Amos Kipruto was second with a time of 2:03.13 while Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia came in third with 2:04.14.

In the women’s race, Kenyan world record holder Brigid Kosgei prevailed with a time of 2:16.02, ahead of the Ethiopian duo of Ashete Bekere (2:17.58) and Gotytom Gebreslase (2:18.18).

“I am so proud to win in the streets of Tokyo, where the people have running in their heart and minds,” Kipchoge said on Twitter.

“It’s great to now have won 4 out of the 6 Abbott World Marathon Major races.”

The 37-year-old holds the world record with a time of 2:01:39 set in Berlin in 2018 and became the only man to break the two-hour barrier at an unofficial race in 2019.