Tanzania’s expectations at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo rest on the capable shoulders of Alphonce Simbu and Josephat Gisemo. With only two athletes making the trip, the nation’s hopes of securing a historic third medal are slimmer but still very much alive.
Initially, Tanzania had planned to be represented by four athletes, but last-minute setbacks saw women’s marathoners Magdalena Shauri and Failuna Abdi Matanga miss out due to delays in mandatory gender testing procedures. The withdrawals have left Simbu and Gisemo as the sole standard-bearers.
Simbu, the more experienced of the two, returns to Tokyo with fond and painful memories. He finished seventh in the Olympic marathon there in 2020 with a time of 2:11:35, but more significantly, he remains Tanzania’s most decorated active athlete thanks to his bronze medal in London at the 2017 World Championships. His personal best of 2:04:38, recorded at the Valencia Marathon, and a second-place finish at the 2025 Boston Marathon underline his pedigree and potential to deliver once again.
Josephat Gisemo, representing the Police Force, is set to make his World Championships debut. He has been steadily building his reputation, clocking 2:10:23 at the Geneva Marathon in Switzerland. Though less experienced on the global stage, his rise has been impressive, and he is being touted as Tanzania’s “secret weapon” heading into Tokyo.
Athletics Federation of Tanzania president Rogath John Stephen Akhwari has likened the competition to the Soccer World Cup, given its gathering of the world’s best. He emphasized that the final phase of preparation should be about rest and mental readiness rather than heavy training.
Former Tanzanian long-distance star Zakia Mrisho has also expressed optimism, noting that both runners have shown the qualities needed to achieve a podium finish.
Tanzania has a modest but proud history in the World Championships, with only two medals since making its debut in 1983. Christopher Isengwe secured silver in the marathon in 2005 in Helsinki, while Simbu brought home bronze in London in 2017. The nation now looks to Tokyo with hope that its two warriors can carve out another chapter of history.
