London Marathon Elite FIeld: Historic Women's Race with Potential World Record Breakers

Wednesday, 06 March 2024

The elite lineup for the 2024 TCS London Marathon, announced earlier today, boasts historically fast contenders.

In the 2024 TCS London Marathon, an exceptional group comprising three of the fastest women in marathon history is poised to attempt establishing a new world record for women-only events. Leading this ambitious endeavor is Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa, who set a breathtaking new world record of 2:11:53 at the BMW Berlin Marathon last September, surpassing the former record of 2:14:04 established by Brigid Kosgei of Kenya in 2019.

Both Assefa and Kosgei are part of an elite lineup aiming to break the current women's-only marathon record of 2:17:01, set by Mary Keitany of Kenya at the 2017 London Marathon, a record that has remained unchallenged for seven years. Also targeting the record are Ruth Chepngetich, the fourth fastest woman ever with a time of 2:14:18, Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir (KEN), and Yalemzerf Yehualaw (ETH), the winner of the 2022 TCS London Marathon.

Special pacemakers will be appointed to ensure the top female competitors stay on pace to break the women’s-only record. The TCS London Marathon facilitates this by having the elite women run separately from the elite men and the general participant field.

Hugh Brasher, the Event Director of the TCS London Marathon, highlighted the current era as a golden age for women's marathon, recalling the lengthy period between Paula Radcliffe's 2003 record of 2:15:25 and its eventual eclipse by Kosgei in 2019. Despite numerous women running faster than Radcliffe's time since then, Keitany's women's-only record has surprisingly stood firm. Brasher anticipates this year's event, with ten women who have run under 2:17:30, to pose a significant challenge to Keitany's record.

The men's elite race will feature notables like Tamirat Tola (ETH), the TCS New York City Marathon champion, Mosinet Geremew (ETH), the seventh fastest man in history, Alexander Mutiso Munyao (KEN), Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN), and the record-setting master's marathoner Kenenisa Bekele (ETH).

From a British standpoint, Emile Cairess returns as the third-fastest Briton following his impressive marathon debut last year. He will be joined by Callum Hawkins, Marc Scott making his marathon debut, and Mahamed Mahamed in his first TCS London Marathon appearance. British women competitors include Becky Briggs and Alice Wright, both of whom competed in the marathon at the 2022 European Championships.

The marathon is scheduled for Sunday, 21 April 2024.

Elite women