Marathons at the World Championships in Athletics
Championships Gold Silver Bronze
1983 Helsinki details Robert de Castella ( AUS ) Kebede Balcha ( ETH ) Waldemar Cierpinski ( GDR )
1987 Rome details Douglas Wakiihuri ( KEN ) Hussein Ahmed Salah ( DJI ) Gelindo Bordin ( ITA )
1991 Tokyo details Hiromi Taniguchi ( JPN ) Hussein Ahmed Salah ( DJI ) Steve Spence ( USA )
1993 Stuttgart details Mark Plaatjes ( USA ) Luketz Swartbooi ( NAM ) Bert van Vlaanderen ( NED )
1995 Gothenburg details Martín Fiz ( ESP ) Dionicio Cerón ( MEX ) Luíz Antônio dos Santos ( BRA )
1997 Athens details Abel Antón ( ESP ) Martín Fiz ( ESP ) Steve Moneghetti ( AUS )
1999 Seville details Abel Antón ( ESP ) Vincenzo Modica ( ITA ) Nobuyuki Sato ( JPN )
2001 Edmonton details Gezahegne Abera ( ETH ) Simon Biwott ( KEN ) Stefano Baldini ( ITA )
2003 Saint-Denis details Jaouad Gharib ( MAR ) Julio Rey ( ESP ) Stefano Baldini ( ITA )
2005 Helsinki details Jaouad Gharib ( MAR ) Christopher Isengwe ( TAN ) Tsuyoshi Ogata ( JPN )
2007 Osaka details Luke Kibet ( KEN ) Mubarak Hassan Shami ( QAT ) Viktor Röthlin ( SUI )
2009 Berlin details Abel Kirui ( KEN ) Emmanuel Mutai ( KEN ) Tsegaye Kebede ( ETH )
2011 Daegu details Abel Kirui ( KEN ) Vincent Kipruto ( KEN ) Feyisa Lilesa ( ETH )
2013 Moscow details Stephen Kiprotich ( UGA ) Lelisa Desisa ( ETH ) Tadese Tola ( ETH )
2015 Beijing details Ghirmay Ghebreslassie ( ERI ) Yemane Tsegay ( ETH ) Solomon Mutai ( UGA )
2017 London details Geoffrey Kirui ( KEN ) Tamirat Tola ( ETH ) Alphonce Simbu ( TAN )
2019 Doha details Lelisa Desisa ( ETH ) Mosinet Geremew ( ETH ) Amos Kipruto ( KEN )
Medalists -- Men
The marathon at the World Championships in Athletics has been contested by both men and women since the inaugural edition in 1983. It is the second most prestigious global title in the discipline after the marathon at the Olympics. From 1997 to 2011 it hosted the World Marathon Cup team event. It currently forms part of the World Marathon Majors circuit, which includes the six top annual races. The competition format has separate men's and women's races, which both serve as a straight final. Participation typically numbers between sixty and eighty runners per race. The event usually starts and ends in the main stadium, with the rest of the race taking place on the surrounding roads of the host city. The championship records for the event are 2:06:54 hours for men, set by Abel Kirui in 2009, and 2:20:57 hours for women, set by Paula Radcliffe in 2005. The world record has never been broken or equalled at the competition by either men or women, reflecting the lack of pacemaking and athletes' more tactical approach to championship races. Catherine Ndereba is the most successful athlete of the event, having won two gold medals and one silver medal in the women's marathon. Four other athletes have won the World Championships marathon twice: Abel Antón, Jaouad Gharib, Abel Kirui and Edna Kiplagat - all of whom had back-to-back victories. Kenya is the most successful nation in the discipline, having won eight gold medals overall (four in each division).