Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia took advantage of the warm weather to pull away late for her first London Marathon title Sunday, setting a record time for a women’s-only race in the process.
Assefa made up for second-place finishes in London and the Paris Olympics last year by pulling away from Joyciline Jepkosgei near the end to finish in 2 hours, 15 minutes, 50 seconds. It was the fastest-ever time in a women’s-only marathon but 25 seconds slower than the course record set by Paula Radcliffe in 2003 when it was a mixed race.
The previous women’s-only record of 2:16:16 was set last year in London by Peres Jepchirchir. Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya set the overall women’s world record of 2:09:56 at last year’s Chicago Marathon.
Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe won the men’s race in his major marathon debut, finishing in 2:02:27 for his biggest career victory.
The weather in London was a lot warmer this year than in 2024, with temperatures nearing 64 degrees by the time the elite runners were finishing, which Assefa said was to her advantage.
“Last year I did have some problems with the cold. My hamstring tightened up toward the end of the race,” Assefa, 28, said through an interpreter. “This year the weather suited me really well.”
Unlike in Paris, Assefa made sure there would be no sprint finish this time as she left Jepkosgei behind with a few kilometers left and ran alone along the Thames and through central London to the finish in front of Buckingham Palace.
Jepkosgei, the 2021 London winner, was almost three minutes back in 2:18:44. Olympic champion Sifan Hassan (2:19:00) was third.
“It was a little bit humid,” Jepkosgei said. “My body was not responding well. And I said, let’s preserve my energy to arrive safely at the finish line.”
Sawe, 29, pulled away from a leading group of nine runners about 90 minutes into the race. He made his move when his rivals slowed down at a drink station, opting not to take any water despite warm temperatures.
Jacob Kiplimo, the half-marathon world-record holder who was making his marathon debut, was the only runner able to give chase but could never get close to erasing the gap. The Ugandan finished about 70 seconds back in second place. Last year’s winner, Alexander Mutiso Munyao, took bronze in 2:04:20.
Sawe’s only previous marathon win came in Valencia in 2024. He is the fourth Kenyan runner in a row to win the men’s race in London.
It was a Swiss double in the wheelchair events, with Marcel Hug racing to his sixth London Marathon title in 1:25:25 and Catherine Debrunner winning her third women’s title in four years in 1:34:18, missing her own world record by two seconds.
A world-record 56,000 runners were expected to participate in the 26.2-mile race that started at Greenwich Park and snaked along the Thames before finishing on The Mall.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
