Jacob Kiplimo, Tigst Assefa and Sabastian Sawe at the London Marathon (© Getty Images)
Sabastian Sawe and Jacob Kiplimo will renew their rivalry at the TCS London Marathon while world record-holder Tigst Assefa will defend her title at the World Athletics Platinum Label road race on Sunday (26).
Sawe won last year’s race in a dominant 2:02:27 – the second-fastest ever London Marathon time and a performance just 22 seconds off the PB of 2:02:05 he set in Valencia in 2024 on his debut at the distance. After his win in London last year, Sawe clinched victory in Berlin in 2:02:16, meaning he has won all of his marathons to date, running well below 2:03:00 in all three of them.
Sawe predicts that whoever wins the race will likely have to break the course record of 2:01:25 set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in 2023.
“The TCS London Marathon course is one of the most beautiful and fastest courses in the world,” said Sawe. “It was my first time running in London last year and it was one of the proudest moments of my life to cross the line as champion. I am excited to be coming back in 2026 and I know now a little bit more about what I can expect. I am sure with the quality of athletes coming to London it will take another fast time to win again, perhaps the type of effort the great Kelvin Kiptum put in when he set the course record in 2023.”
Kiplimo was runner-up to Sawe in London on what was his marathon debut, setting a Ugandan record of 2:03:37. He improved that record to 2:02:23 when winning in Chicago in October, then went on to claim his third consecutive world cross-country title in Tallahassee. Last month, he set a world half marathon record (pending ratification) of 57:20 in Lisbon.
His compatriot Joshua Cheptegei, the world 5000m and 10,000m record-holder, will be making his London Marathon debut. The double Olympic gold medallist and three-time world 10,000m champion has contested three marathons to date, his best performance being his 2:04:52 run to finish fifth in Amsterdam last October.
Olympic marathon champion Tamirat Tola will be making his fifth appearance at the London Marathon, having finished in the top six on four occasions. The 2022 world champion has a lifetime best of 2:03:39 and earlier this year he won the Doha Marathon in 2:05:40.
Fellow Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, the two-time world 10,000m silver medallist, will be making his marathon debut.
Kenya’s 2022 London Marathon champion Amos Kipruto and two-time New York City Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor, Ethiopia’s Deresa Geleta, the ninth-fastest man in history over the marathon (2:02:38) and Germany’s world marathon silver medallist Amanal Petros are other stellar names in this year’s line-up.
British fans lining the course will be cheering on home stars Patrick Dever, third at last year’s New York Marathon, Philip Sesemann and Mahamed Mahamed.
Tigst Assefa, who won last year in a women-only world record of 2:15:50, will start as favourite in the women’s race. The Ethiopian is a proven competitor in big races, having chalked up two wins in Berlin and earned world and Olympic silver medals.
“Winning last year’s TCS London Marathon and setting a women-only world record was one of the proudest moments of my career and I want to repeat that again this year,” said Assefa, whose PB of 2:11:53, set in Berlin in 2023, was a world record in a mixed race at the time.
Assefa has finished in the top two in her past six marathons. In fact, only two women have beaten her over the marathon distance in the past four years: Olympic champion Sifan Hassan and world champion Peres Jepchirchir. Both were originally due to compete in London, but they recently withdrew due to injury.
Assefa will still face strong opposition in the form of Kenyan duo Joyciline Jepkosgei, the 2021 London Marathon winner, and Hellen Obiri, two-time Boston and New York winner.
Jepkosgei, who finished in between Assefa and Hassan in London last year, went on to win the Valencia Marathon in December in a world-leading PB of 2:14:00, beating Jepchirchir in the process. The 2019 New York Marathon champion is a former world record-holder at the half marathon.
Obiri will be making her London Marathon debut. Aside from the 2024 Olympics, where Obiri earned bronze, all seven of her other marathons have been in the US. She has won twice in Boston (2023 and 2024) and in New York (2023 and 2025), smashing the course record with 2:19:51 with her latest victory.
Other podium contenders include 2021 London runner-up Degitu Azimeraw of Ethiopia, Bahraini record-holder Eunice Chumba, world half marathon bronze medallist Catherine Reline Amanang’ole of Kenya and world marathon bronze medallist Julia Paternain of Uruguay.
Eilish McColgan, Jess Warner-Judd and Rose Harvey lead the British entrants.
Leading entries
Women
Tigst Assefa (ETH) 2:11:53
Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) 2:14:00
Hellen Obiri (KEN) 2:17:41
Degitu Azimeraw (ETH) 2:17:58
Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:02
Catherine Reline Amanangole (KEN) 2:20:34
Balemelay Shumet (ETH) 2:21:59
Rose Harvey (GBR) 2:23:21
Eilish McColgan (GBR) 2:24:25
Jessica Warner-Judd (GBR) 2:24:45
Marta Galimany (ESP) 2:26:14
Julia Paternain (URU) 2:27:09
Men
Sabastian Sawe (KEN) 2:02:05
Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) 2:02:23
Deresa Geleta (ETH) 2:02:38
Amos Kipruto (KEN) 2:03:13
Tamirat Tola (ETH) 2:03:39
Amanal Petros (GER) 2:04:03
Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN) 2:04:23
Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) 2:04:52
Mahamed Mahamed (GBR) 2:07:05
Philip Sesemann (GBR) 2:07:10
Adam Lipschitz (RSA) 2:08:54
Patrick Dever (GBR) 2:08:58
Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) debut
