ASSEFA, SAWE DOMINATE TCS LONDON MARATHON

ASSEFA, SAWE DOMINATE TCS LONDON MARATHON
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2025 Race Outcomes Weekly, all rights reserved, used with permission. 

NOTE: This story was written remotely-Ed.

(27-Apr) — In sunny and a-bit-too-warm situations, Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa and Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe dominated the forty fifth version of the TCS London Marathon this morning.  The 2 adidas-sponsored athletes gained utilizing late-race breakaways, and Assefa established a pending women-only world report of two:15:50.  Sawe, working in solely his second marathon, clocked the second-fastest time in London Marathon historical past: 2:02:27.

Forward of the elite runners, Switzerland’s Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner ran away with the skilled wheelchair racing titles in 1:25:25 and 1:34:18, respectively.  Hug gained his seventh London Marathon (sixth in a row), and Debrunner set a course report and got here inside two seconds of her personal world report.

WOMEN START OUT FAST

Though the ladies’s subject was weakened by the late withdrawals of world report holder Ruth Chepngetich and 2021 Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir (each of Kenya), Assefa nonetheless confronted sturdy competitors from reigning Olympic champion Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands and former half-marathon world report holder Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya.  Shepherded by Kenyan pacemakers Catherine Reline Amanang’ole and Gladys Chepkurui, the trio went via 5 km in an aggressive 15:34.  They had been additionally joined by Ethiopia’s Megertu Alemu, and the chase pack of Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot, Ethiopia’s Haven Hailu Desse, American Susanna Sullivan, and Uganda’s Stella Chesang had been already 50 seconds again.  Scottish debutante Eilish McColgan was working alone one other three seconds again.

The main 4 ladies stayed collectively via 10 km (31:16), and 15 km (47:11).  It was at that time that each Alemu and Hassan started to have hassle.  Alemu slowed dramatically within the subsequent 5-kilometer section (she would drop out earlier than 25-Ok), and Hassan managed to take care of contact via the half-way level (1:06:40) the place she was solely ten seconds behind.  Amanang’ole stayed on the entrance, however Chepkurui dropped out simply earlier than 20-Ok.

Because the race progressed within the second half, Jepkosgei did many of the main with Assefa working proper on her heels.  Hassan fell farther and farther behind with every 5-kilometer section, and was 1:10 again at 30-Ok and a pair of:03 again at 35-Ok.  She would run your entire second half alone and end third in 2:19:00.

Amanang’ole dropped out at 25-Ok, and Assefa and Jepkosgei ran collectively via 35-Ok (1:52:12).  The pair appeared fused collectively till Assefa dropped a 5:03 for the twenty fourth mile (that’s roughly 37 to 38.7 km), and broke the race open.  She was decided to not end second as she did final yr.

“This seems like a robust, sturdy race-winning transfer by Assefa,” stated British Olympian Hannah England on the world feed commentary.

Certainly it was.  Assefa sipped her drink on the 40-Ok fluid station, assured that she had an insurmountable lead.  Getting the women-only world report was icing on the cake, and he or she fell to her knees together with her arms raised simply after ending.  Assefa gained a complete of USD 305,000: 55,000 for first place, 100,000 for sub-2:16:00, and 150,000 for the ladies’s world report.

“Final yr I did have some issues with the chilly,” Assefa stated in her post-race interview with the assistance of an interpreter.  “My hamstring tightened up towards the tip of the race.  This yr the climate suited me very well.”

Jepkosgei, who was clearly struggling over the ultimate 400 meters, held on for second in 2:18:44.  Fourth place went to Desse, who was in fifth at midway, in 2:19:17.  Kenyan veteran Vivian Cheruiyot, who was a late addition to the elite subject, completed fifth in 2:22:32 at age 41.

Again in eighth place Eilish McColgan set a Scottish report of two:24:25 and likewise took the McColgan household report from her mom, Liz, who ran 2:26:52 at London in 1997.

“I’m actually proud to have completed right this moment; it was a really, very robust run,” McColgan informed reporters within the race’s combined zone.  “I began out slightly bit scorching and paid the worth on that.  Heaps to be taught, a really, very steep studying curve.  Yeah, I can name myself a marathoner.”

Additionally noteworthy was that Italy’s Sofiia Yaremchuk set a nationwide report of two:23:14 in seventh place, and American Susanna Sullivan completed tenth in 2:29:30 (off of a 1:11:56 midway cut up).  Solely 13 ladies (out of 15 starters) completed within the elite ladies’s division.

SAWE RUNS AWAY

It was outstanding how simply Sabastian Sawe ran away with the lads’s title.  The reigning world half-marathon champion ran in a giant lead pack of ten via midway in 1:01:30 trying very comfy.  He was joined by Germany’s Amanal Petros; Kenyans Alexander Mutiso Munyao (the race’s defending champion), Eliud Kipchoge, and Timothy Kiplagat; Ethiopians Milkesa Mengesha, Tamirat Tola, and Mohamed Esa; Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo (making his marathon debut); and Dutchman Abdi Nageeye.  That group held collectively via 25-Ok (1:13:00), and by 30-Ok (1:27:47) solely Esa had been dropped.

It was at that time when Sawe went to work.  He crushed the twentieth mile in 4:18, and ran the 30 to 35-Ok section in a scorching 13:56.  That gave him a 22-second lead at 35-Ok, which he would greater than double by 40-Ok (he ran 28:16 from 30-Ok to 40-Ok).  He sailed to the end line alone trying as contemporary as he did after the primary 5 kilometers.  He ran a mind-blowing unfavorable cut up of 61:30/60:57.

“I used to be nicely ready for this race, and that’s why it grew to become straightforward for me to win,” Sawe informed reporters.  He gained a complete of USD 155,000 in prize cash and bonuses: 55,000 for the win and 100,000 for sub-2:03.

Behind Sawe, Kiplimo ran a superb marathon debut, clocking 2:03:37, a brand new Ugandan marathon report.  Mutiso and Nageeye sprinted side-by-side on the race’s grand end straight on The Mall, and the Kenyan simply edged the reigning TCS New York Metropolis Marathon champion by a fraction of a second to take third (each males had been timed in 2:04:20).  Tamirat Tola, the reigning Olympic champion, completed fifth in 2:04:42, and Kipchoge –who gained London 4 occasions earlier than– ran a robust 2:05:25 at age 40.  The highest British athlete was Mahamed Mahamed in ninth place in 2:08:52.  Like McColgan, he additionally gained the British nationwide title.

Race organizers count on a report variety of finishers, above final yr’s report of 53,790 (elite plus mass race, mixed).  The entry poll for the 2026 race, scheduled for April twenty sixth, is already open.

ELITE WOMEN’S RESULTS (all finishers) –
1. Tigist ASSEFA, ETH, 2:15:50 WRwo*
[1:06:40 / 1:09:10]
2. Joyciline JEPKOSGEI, KEN, 2:18:44
3. Sifan HASSAN, NED, 2:19:00
4. Haven Hailu DESSE, ETH, 2:19:17
5. Vivian CHERUIYOT (40+), KEN, 2:22:32
6. Stella CHESANG, UGA, 2:22:42
7. Sofiia YAREMCHUK, ITA, 2:23:14 NR
8. Eilish MCCOLGAN, GBR, 2:24:25 DB/Scottish Document (1st NC)
9. Rose HARVEY, GBR, 2:25:01 (2nd NC)
10. Susanna SULLIVAN, USA, 2:29:30
11. Phily BOWDEN, GBR, 2:30:28 (third NC)
12. Molly BOOKMYER, USA, 2:32:31
13. Holly ARCHER, GBR, 2:39:45 DB
*World report/women-only competitors; earlier 2:16:16, Peres Jepchirchir (KEN), London, 21-Apr-2024

ELITE MEN –
1. Sabastian SAWE, KEN, 2:02:27
[1:01:30 / 1:00:57]
2. Jacob KIPLIMO, UGA, 2:03:37 DB/NR
3. Alexander Mutiso MUNYAO, KEN, 2:04:20
4. Abdi NAGEEYE, NED, 2:04:20
5. Tamirat TOLA, ETH, 2:04:42
6. Eliud KIPCHOGE (40+), KEN, 2:05:25
7. Hillary KIPKOECH, KEN, 2:06:05
8. Amanal PETROS, GER, 2:06:30
9. Mahamed MAHAMED, GBR, 2:08:52 (1st NC)
10. Milkesa MENGESHA, ETH, 2:09:01
11. Andrew BUCHANAN, AUS, 2:09:11
12. Adam LIPSCHITZ, RSA, 2:09:48
13. Sondre Norstad MOEN, NOR, 2:09:57
14. Alex YEE, GBR, 2:11:08 DB (2nd NC)
15. Weynay GHEBRESILASE, GBR, 2:11:21