POST-RACE DATA ANALYSIS - TOKYO 2025 - Kebede’s Consistent Authority: The Data of a Wire-to-Wire Defense

 

POST-RACE DATA ANALYSIS - TOKYO 2025 - Kebede’s Consistent Authority: The Data of a Wire-to-Wire Defense

Sutume Asefa Kebede’s title defense (2:16:31) was a masterful display of wire-to-wire control, a performance that requires exceptional mental and physical consistency. The data shows she avoided the major pace fluctuations often seen in races where the lead changes hands. She dictated the tempo and maintained an almost metronomic pace throughout. The battle for the remaining podium spots was much tighter (second and third separated by only four seconds), proving that Kebede’s strategy completely isolated her from the competitive tension behind her.