Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa and Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei set a torrid pace down the stretch in Sunday’s London Marathon, but it was Assefa who pulled away to set a women’s-only world record in winning the race.
Assefa, the marathon’s silver medalist in the Paris Olympics, finished in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds, lowering the record of 2:16:16 that Peres Jepchirchir set for a race with no male runners last year in London. Jepkosgei was second Sunday in 2:18.44. Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, the champion last summer in Paris, dropped back from the leaders around the halfway mark and finished third in 2:19.00.
Assefa’s mark is pending ratification by World Athletics. In addition to anti-doping tests of athletes, the organization rechecks its certification of the course and the accuracy of timers, as well as obtaining independent verification.
“I won second here last year so to win this year is very special. I am really, very happy,” Assefa told BBC One. “Last year I did have some problems with the cold and my hamstring tightened up towards the end. This year the weather suited me better. I am really pleased with how the race went.”
(The Washington Post)
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There can be confusion over the “women’s-only” designation, which was put in place in 2011 and muddies the question about what constitutes a women’s world record. Since then, women’s world records recognized by World Athletics carry “women’s-only” and “mixed” designations, meant to nullify the pacesetting that faster male runners would provide in marathons, half-marathons and 10-kilometer races in which men and women are in the same field.
That’s why Assefa has run the second-fastest marathon time overall, a 2:11:53 set in Berlin in 2023 in a race in which there was a male pacesetter. Only the 2:09:56 run by Ruth Chepngetich in last year’s Chicago Marathon, also with men in the field, is faster.
Kenyan Sebastian Sawe, running in only his second marathon, was the men’s winner in 2:02:27, running the second-fastest time in race history behind Kelvin Kiptum’s 2:01:25 from 2023. Sawe finished 70 seconds ahead of Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo. In his first marathon in December, Sawe ran the fastest 26.2 miles of 2024, winning the race held in Valencia, Spain, in 2:02:05.
In his first marathon since his 40th birthday, Eliud Kipchoge, the two-time Olympic gold medalist, was sixth in 2:05:25.
In the wheelchair races, Marcel Hug won his sixth London marathon title in 1:25:25 and Catherine Debrunner missed her world record by two seconds, winning in 1:34:18.
London’s race, which drew over 56,000 runners, was the third of the world’s seven majors, with Sydney, which recently was added, set for Aug. 31. Berlin, Chicago and New York will follow
