Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia, after finishing second in the previous year’s race, ran a dominant women’s London Marathon on Sunday, crossing the finish line in a new world record time of 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 50 seconds.
The 28-year-old Ethiopian runner finished significantly ahead of Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei, while Sifan Hassan, who narrowly defeated Assefa for Olympic gold in Paris the previous year, secured third place.
Assefa, Jepkosgei, and Hassan, who had gained 10 kilograms during a four-month break following her Olympic victory, established themselves at the front of the race early on.
However, Hassan, 32, initially fell behind the leading group of four, which was setting an incredibly fast pace—at that point, on track for a 2-hour and 12-minute finish, a full minute faster than Hassan’s personal best.
Hassan managed to rejoin the leaders but was subsequently dropped again, trailing Assefa and Jepkosgei, along with the final pacemaker, by around 20 metres at the halfway point near Tower Bridge.
Despite this, Hassan remained within sight of the leading pair, likely hoping that once the pacemaker withdrew, Assefa and Jepkosgei might hesitate over pacing duties, a mistake that benefited Hassan in the 2023 race.
However, instead of closing the gap, Hassan’s running form appeared to deteriorate after the pacemaker dropped out, and the lead of the front two runners increased. By the 30-kilometre mark, Hassan was over a minute behind Assefa and Jepkosgei, who were taking turns setting the pace.
The 32-year-old Hassan maintained a comfortable third position, receiving applause from amateur runners further back in the race.
Assefa made her decisive move just after the two-hour mark, leaving Jepkosgei behind. Demonstrating remarkable endurance, Assefa built a lead of almost a minute over a visibly tiring Jepkosgei by the 40-kilometre mark.
