Eliud Kipchoge, who grew to become the primary athlete to run a marathon in beneath two hours in 2019 and is extensively thought to be the best distance runner in historical past, returns to the London Marathon for the primary time since 2020.
The document four-time winner is joined within the elite males’s race by defending champion Munyao and Ethiopia’s Olympic champion Tamirat Tola, however Kipchoge’s long-time rival Kenenisa Bekele was a late withdrawal.
Half marathon world document holder Jacob Kiplimo makes his debut after changing into the primary particular person to run a half marathon in beneath 57 minutes in February.
World document holder Ruth Chepngetich and 2024 winner Jepchirchir have withdrawn from this yr’s elite girls’s race.
However a stacked line-up nonetheless options two of the three quickest girls in historical past in Olympic champion Sifan Hassan and Paris 2024 silver medallist Tigst Assefa.
All 4 reigning Olympic and Paralympic marathon champions might be current, with Swiss athletes Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner contesting the elite wheelchair occasions.
Hug, who gained a 3rd consecutive Paralympic marathon in 2024, bids for a seventh – and fifth consecutive – London Marathon triumph, whereas compatriot Debrunner goals for a 3rd London victory following 5 golds at Paris 2024.
The race winners will obtain £41,000, whereas a £112,000 bonus might be paid to any man working beneath 2:02:00 or lady beneath 2:15:00.
