Lonah Chemtai-Salpeter. Photo: Israel Athletic Association.

JNS.org – Israeli long-distance runner Lonah Chemtai-Salpeter became one of the fastest women in the world on Sunday when she won the Tokyo Marathon with a time of 2:17:45, smashing both the course record for the prestigious marathon and the previous Israeli women’s marathon record of 2:19:46, which Chemtai-Salpeter herself set at the Prague Marathon in 2019.

Her Tokyo time makes her the sixth-fastest female marathoner of all time.

Following the race, the champion said she was “”very pleased” with the results.

“My preparation allowed me to improve my personal best. I feel that today’s result is a return for all the hard work of the last few months. Unfortunately, in my last two marathons, I wasn’t able to express myself on the day of the race, but today the conditions here in Tokyo were perfect,” she said.

In September 2019, Chemtai-Salpeter set a new European women’s record for the 10 kilometer distance, running the Tilburg Ten Miles race in 30:04, 17 seconds faster than the previous record, which legendary British runner Paula Radcliffe set in 2003.

The 30:04 time also became a new Israeli women’s record for the distance.