On a Saturday night in the world’s most populous city, Tokyo, all eyes were on some of the fastest athletes in the world as they competed in 5K and 10K road races, showcasing ASICS’ latest footwear technology. In the shadow of the 2020 Olympic Stadium, 10 national records fell, along with three area records and 48 personal bests, all achieved in the new Metaspeed Tokyo Series.
Five national records came in the 5K race, which was headlined by women’s Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Nadia Battocletti of Italy. Battocletti delivered another standout performance, finishing second, in 14:32, to set a European and Italian record. Kenya’s Caroline Nyaga took the win, with a speedy time of 14:19, lowering her previous best by 15 seconds. Sweden’s Sarah Lahti also set a national record for her country, finishing seventh, in 15:04.
The men’s 5K got off to a blistering start. Uganda’s Harbert Kibet surged in the final kilometre to pull away from Djibouti’s Ismail Mohamed, and won, in 13:00. Mohamed followed 10 seconds later, setting a new Djiboutian national record. Kenya’s Samwel Mailu finished third in 13:11, while South Africa’s Maxime Chaumeton recorded a five-second personal best and a national record for fourth in 13:14. Paralympic T38 1,500m champion Nate Tucker (formerly Nate Riech) was the lone Canadian in the field, finishing 38th.
Aussie. Aussie. Record
The 10K races continued the record-breaking trend, with five more national records and two area records set. Australia’s Izzi Batt-Doyle stole the spotlight in the women’s race, finishing third in 30:44 to become the first Australian woman to break the 31-minute barrier. “I came to Tokyo wanting to run fast, and it was incredible to do that wearing the fastest shoes in the world,” Batt-Doyle told Canadian Running in a post-race interview. She added that while her goal was to sneak under 31 minutes, she hadn’t expected to crush the mark by 16 seconds.
It was a banner night for Australia at Tokyo: Speed: Race, as Batt-Doyle’s compatriot, Sam Clifford, broke the men’s national 10K record just minutes earlier. The 22-year-old Tasmanian crossed the line in 27:34, shaving nine seconds off the previous record held by Australian Olympian Jack Rayner, ironically set in Tasmania in 2022. Clifford’s performance was one of three men’s records, as American Abbabiya Simbassa clocked a North American area record of 27:32.
Uganda’s Joy Cheptoyek won the women’s 10K in 30:22, while Ethiopia’s Jemal Yimer took the men’s title in a swift 27:10.
Records written by innovation
All records were set in ASICS’ latest Metaspeed Tokyo Series shoes: the Metaspeed Ray, Metaspeed Sky Tokyo and Metaspeed Edge Tokyo. The Sky and Edge are the latest iterations of the brand’s highly successful Metaspeed race line, with each version focused on improving cushioning and stability. ASICS’ newest innovation, the Metaspeed Ray, is the lightest and most performance-driven shoe in the lineup, developed in direct response to feedback from elite ASICS athletes seeking a super-light racing shoe to enhance speed and performance on race day. Weighing in at just 129 grams (4.55 oz), the Ray is ASICS’s highest racing shoe yet, and is slated for release later this year.
For full results from the 2025 Tokyo: Speed: Race, see here.
