World record holder Brigid Kosgei will lead impressive women's field at London Marathon

World record holder Brigid Kosgei will defend her title at the 2021 Virgin London Marathon, a World Athletics Elite Platinum Label Road Race and one of the six Abbott Marathon Majors races. Kosgei dominated the women’s race on a lapped course around St. James Park.

London Marathon live stream and results

The London Marathon will be run on the traditional course, where the race was held until April 2019, from Blackheath to the Mall. 

Kosgei will run her second marathon race just eight weeks after winning the Olympic silver medal in Sapporo. Kosgei won the London Marathon in 2019 in 2:18:20 and in 2020 in 2:18:58 and finished second in 2018 in 2:20:13. The 27-year-old Kenyan star set the world record with 2:14:04 in Chicago 2019. 

The Kenyan is looking to become only the second person after Katrin Dorre-Heinig to win the women’s title in three successive years.

The 27-year-old Kenyan marathon runner will go up against reigning New York Marathon champion Joyciline Jepkosgei, who won the Valencia Marathon in 2:18:40 in 2020 and the world half marathon silver medal in the same Spanish city in 1:06:54. Jepkosgei broke Sifan Hassan’s course record at the Berlin Half Marathon with 1:05:16 on 29 August. 

The London Marathon race also features seven other runners who have broken the 2:20 barrier: Roza Dereje from Ethiopia, who clocked the 10th fastest time in history with her PB of 2:18:30 in Valencia in 2019, finished fourth at the Olympic Games in Sapporo and second in Chicago in 2018, Lonah Salpeter, who set an Israeli record of 2:17:45 to win the Tokyo Marathon in 2020 and won the European title in the 10000m in Berlin in 2018, Birhane Dibaba from Ethiopia, who won two editions of the Tokyo Marathon in 2015 and 2018 and finished runner-up in the Japanese capital in 2020 improving her PB to 2:18:35, Valary Jemeli Aiyabei from Kenya, who won the Frankfurt Marathon in 2:19:10 in 2019 and clocked 1:07:32 at the Berlin Half Marathon last August, Zeineba Yimer from Ethiopia, fifth at the Valencia Marathon in 2:19:28 in 2019, Tigist Girma, sixth in Valencia in 2020 in 2:19:56, and Degitu Azimarew, winner in Amsterdam in 2:19:26 in 2019 and fifth in Valencia in 2:19:56 in 2020. 

The line-up also features Ethiopian runners Ashete Bekere, who finished fourth in London in 2:22:51 and set her PB of 2:20:14 in 2019, and Alemu Megertu, who won in Rome in 2:22:52 and finished second in Frankfurt in her PB of 2:21:10 in 2019. 

Australia’s Sinead Diver will make her return to the British capital where she finished seventh in 2:24:11 in 2019 and eighth in 2:27:07 in 2020. The 44-year-old Aussie runner crossed the finish-line in tenth place in 2:31:14 at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

Women's Elite Field