Tokyo Marathon 2015 Results: Men's and Women's Top Finishers

It was a big day for Ethiopia at the 2015 Tokyo Marathon, as a pair of runners from the African nation took home the top spots in the men's and women's division of this preeminent competition on Sunday.

Men's champion Endeshaw Negesse was the first of nearly 36,000 runners to cross the finish line on a drab, overcast day in Tokyo, winning the race with an official time of two hours and six minutes. ESPN Endurance provided a look at him crossing the finish line:

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Endeshaw Negesse wins the 2015 #TokyoMarathon in 2:05:59. pic.twitter.com/rIq9qgkSqm

— ESPN Endurance (@ESPN_Endurance) February 22, 2015"

Birhane Dibaba was the first woman to complete the 26.2-mile journey through one of the globe's largest and most venerable cities. She crushed her competition and finished with a time of 2:23:15. At just 21 years of age, Dibaba has incredible skill and could be one of the top marathoners in the world for years to come.

Men's Division
Women's Division
Place	Name	Country
1	Endeshaw Negesse	Ethiopia
2	Stephen Kiprotich	Uganda
3	Dickson Chumba	Kenya
Place	Name	Country
1	Birhane Dibaba	Ethiopia
2	Helah Kiprop	Kenya
3	Tiki Gelana	Ethiopia

Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda finished in second place in the men's division, 33 seconds behind Negesse, per The Associated Press (h/t Yahoo News). Last year's men's champion, Dickson Chumba (Kenya), battled hard with Negesse and Kiprotich for much of the race, but he faded ever so slightly in the final moments and finished in third place, three seconds behind Kiprotich.

Ethiopia's strong performances weren't relegated to the top of the podium, either. Tiki Gelana, 2012 Olympic gold medalist and one of the women's favorites heading into the race, finished in third place. Kenya's Helah Kiprop took second in the women's division.

Last year's women's champion, Tirfi Tsegaye, was unable compete on Sunday due to injury, paving the way for a new champion this year.

The World Marathon Major's Twitter account provided a stunning look at the massive crowd of runners on hand at the beginning of the race:

While there was no new course record to be had on Sunday, fans of distance running were still treated to a brilliant afternoon of endurance feats from some of the best marathoners on the planet. The depth of competition in Tokyo cements its status as one of the world's premier marathons, although this nine-year-old event will take some time to match the prestige of the New York and London Marathons, among others.

The 26-year-old Negesse, perhaps overshadowed by the likes of Kiprotich, Chumba and Tsegaye Kebede heading into this competition, battled valiantly down the stretch of the race to earn perhaps the biggest win of his career thus far. Flotrack noted it was Kiprotich who looked like he might take the competition at the 35-kilometer mark:

But Negesse would power ahead with three kilometers to go, per Flotrack:

It soon became a battle for second place, with Kiprotich and Chumba fighting on until the bitter end.

Kiprotich would make one final push toward the end, and ESPN Endurance provided a look at Kiprotich crossing the finish line just ahead of his esteemed competitor:

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Olympic champion @Stephen42k finishes second. #TokyoMarathon pic.twitter.com/Nm8NLb1N1w

— ESPN Endurance (@ESPN_Endurance) February 22, 2015"

Kiprotich might have mixed feelings after the race, considering he had his sights set on the leaderboard rather than the timer.

"For me, it's more about winning races than times," via the AFP (h/t Yahoo Finance). He did set a new personal record on Sunday, with his previous best a 2:07:20 mark in April 2011. However, he failed to complete his prime objective.

RaceResultsWeekly.com's David Monti also noted that Japan's own Masato Imai put in a strong performance on the men's side:

On the women's side of things, Dibaba had control of the race for much of the home stretch, per Flotrack:

The young Dibaba set a personal best of 2:22:30 at this very competition in 2014. While she didn't best that time on Sunday, her performance was good enough to earn victory, a prize that eluded her last year.

The Tokyo Marathon is the first in the six-race World Marathon Major Series this year. The other events include the London, New York, Boston, Chicago and Berlin Marathons. This competition signaled the beginning of a new era in elite marathon competition. Flotrack provided a marathon-competition update:

According to a WorldMarathonMajor.com press release, the series is moving to a new one-year, points-based format. A $1 million prize is split equally between the top male and female runners. For Dibaba and Negresse, this result is a strong start.

The previous format was a two-year gauntlet; just about any distance runner should be happy to see the finish line moved up for once.