Mouth-watering line-ups at the 2025 London Marathon
Hugh Brasher, chief executive of London Marathon Events, describes the elite fields for the 2025 TCS London Marathon, as the greatest in the history of the event – and it's difficult to disagree.
The event on April 27 is set to feature all four reigning Olympic and Paralympic champions – Sifan Hassan, Tamirat Tola, Catherine Debrunner and Marcel Hug plus defending champions Alex Mutiso and Peres Jepchirchir and the owner of the new women’s world record of 2:09:56, Ruth Chepngetich.
Brits racing include Emile Cairess, fresh from his Olympic fourth place last summer, Eilish McColgan, Charlotte Purdue, Rose Harvey, Mahamed Mahamed and Phil Sesemann, together with David Weir and Eden Rainbow-Cooper in the wheelchair races. There is also excitement in seeing how Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee will fare on his marathon debut.
After a week-long period of elite athlete announcements, the organisers have today added Tigist Assefa of Ethiopia, the two-time BMW Berlin Marathon champion and Olympic Games silver medallist, whose personal best of 2:11:53 is the second fastest of all time for women.
What's more, the race will include Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya, the 2021 London Marathon champion, and Alemu Megertu of Ethiopia, the two-time podium finisher at the London Marathon and winner of the 2024 Valencia Marathon. Jepkosgei and Megertu were third and fourth at the 2024 TCS London Marathon and bring the total of women in the field with PBs under 2:17 to a record-breaking six.
There is an exciting marathon debut in the elite men’s race as Jacob Kiplimo, as the Ugandan joins Tola, Cairess and Mutiso on the start line of his first 26.2-mile race. The 24-year-old is the reigning world cross country champion and has won Olympic and World Championship medals over 10,000m on the track. He is also a double (5000m and 10,000m) Commonwealth champion from Birmingham 2022 and is the second-fastest man in history over the half-marathon distance with 57:31.
Also confirmed for the elite men’s race is Sabastian Sawe of Kenya, who ran the fifth-fastest time in history when he won the 2024 Valencia Marathon in 2:02:05 on his debut over the 26.2-mile distance; the reigning BMW Berlin Marathon champion, Milkesa Mengesha of Ethiopia; and Timothy Kiplagat of Kenya, who ran 2:02:55 to finish second at the 2024 Tokyo Marathon.
Abdi Nageeye from the Netherlands, the reigning TCS New York City Marathon champion, is one of five national marathon record-holders in the men’s field with his PB of 2:04:45 the fastest of a set which also includes Germany’s Amanal Petros (2:04:58), Norway’s Sondre Moen (2:05:48), Australia’s Andrew Buchanan (2:06:22) and Denmark’s Jacob Sommer Simonsen (2:07:51). Italy’s half marathon record-holder, Yeman Crippa, is also among those heading to London.
In the wheelchair categories, Manuela Schar of Switzerland, the three-time London Marathon champion, Susannah Scaroni of the United States, the reigning TCS New York City Marathon champion, and Madison de Rozario of Australia will all do battle with Debrunner in the women’s race while Daniel Romanchuk of the United States, the reigning TCS New York City Marathon champion, will be challenging Hug and Weir in the men’s wheelchair race.
Hugh Brasher, CEO of London Marathon Events, said: “This is quite simply the greatest elite field in the history of the London Marathon. We have all four Paralympic and Olympic marathon champions, not to mention an Olympic triathlon champion in Alex Yee. We are welcoming back all our defending champions and, excitingly, Ruth Chepngetich who produced one of the most outstanding athletic performances of all time when she became the first woman to run inside 2:10 at Chicago last year.
“In Ruth, Sifan Hassan and Tigist Assefa we have the three fastest women of all time in the field in a thrilling showdown. All three have run inside 2:14 and no marathon in history has ever had a faster line-up. We are always proud when we hear athletes say that the TCS London Marathon is harder to win than the Olympic or Paralympic marathon. The reason they say that is because of the quality of the fields we assemble here in London and this year, our historic 45th edition, is stronger than ever before.”
Elite Men
Elite Women
Elite Men Wheelchair
Elite Women Wheelchair
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