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The London Marathon, one of the six World Marathon Majors, [1] has been contested by men and women annually since 29 March 1981. Set over a largely flat course around the River Thames, the marathon is 26.2 miles (42.2 km) in length [2] and generally regarded as a competitive and unpredictable event, and conducive to fast times. [3]
The inaugural marathon had 7,741 entrants, 6,255 of whom completed the race. [4] The first Men's Elite Race was tied between American Dick Beardsley and Norwegian Inge Simonsen, who crossed the finish line holding hands in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 48 seconds. [5] The first Women's Elite Race was won by Briton Joyce Smith in 2:29:57. [5] In 1983, the first wheelchair races took place. Organized by the British Sports Association for the Disabled (BASD), 19 people competed and 17 finished. Gordon Perry of the United Kingdom won the Men's Wheelchair Race, coming in at 3:20:07, and Denise Smith, also of the UK, won the Women's Wheelchair Race in 4:29:03. [6]
Twenty athletes representing the United Kingdom have won the London Marathon a total of forty times. The most recent win by a British athlete was in the 2012 London Marathon, by David Weir in the Men's Wheelchair Race. It was his sixth win in London. Kenya has the second largest number of winning athletes. Seven Kenyan men and seven Kenyan women have been victorious a total of eighteen times, all in the able-bodied category. Eleven men, including those from the wheelchair races, have won the marathon more than once, Weir's six wins being the record. Sixteen women have been winners more than once; Tanni Grey-Thompson won the women's wheelchair race six times between 1992 and 2002.
Course records for the London Marathon have been set ten times in the men's race, seven times in the women's race, sixteen times in the men's wheelchair race, and seventeen times in the women's wheelchair race. World records for marathon running have been set six times considering marks for men and women in mixed sex and women-only races. Khalid Khannouchi, representing the United States, set the men's world record in 2:05:38 in 2002. The following year, British runner Paula Radcliffe set the women's world record in 2:15:25, which also stands as the current course record in the Women's Elite Race. In 2017 Kenyan Mary Keitany ran a women-only race world record of 2:17:01. Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya set the course record at 2:02:37 in 2019 in the Men's Elite Race. Marcel Hug of Switzerland set the Men's Wheelchair Race course record at 1:26:27 in 2021. The course record for the Women's Wheelchair Race was set by Swiss athlete Manuela Schär in 2021, with 1:39:52.
Country | Men's race | Women's race | Men's wheelchair | Women's Wheelchair | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 6 | 7 | 16 | 15 | 44 |
Kenya | 17 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
Netherlands | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Norway | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Ireland | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
Ethiopia | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
United States | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
Germany | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Mexico | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
Italy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
Portugal | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 13 |
Canada | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Denmark | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
France | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Japan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Sweden | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Australia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Morocco | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Poland | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Soviet Union | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Belgium | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
China | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, England. It is the largest marathon in the world, with over 53,700 finishers in 2024, and 840,318 applicants for the 2025 event. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to October for 2020, 2021, and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The largely flat course is set around the River Thames, starting in Blackheath and finishing at The Mall. Hugh Brasher is the current race director and Nick Bitel its chief executive.
The Berlin Marathon is a marathon event held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany on the last weekend of September. Held annually since 1974, the event includes multiple races over the marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi), including elite level road running competitions for men and women, a race for the public, an inline skating race, a wheelchair race, and a handcycle race.
The 2009 London Marathon was the 29th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 26 April. The elite men's race was won by Kenya's Samuel Wanjiru in a time of 2:05:10 hours and the women's race was won by Germany's Irina Mikitenko in 2:22:11.
The 2010 London Marathon was the 30th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 25 April. The elite men's race was won by Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede in a time of 2:05:19 hours and the elite women's race was won by Aselefech Mergia, also of Ethiopia, in 2:22:38.
The 2011 London Marathon was the 31st running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 17 April. The elite men's race was won by Kenya's Emmanuel Kipchirchir Mutai in a course record time of 2:04:40 hours and the elite women's race was won by Mary Jepkosgei Keitany, also of Kenya, in 2:19:19.
The 2012 London Marathon was the 32nd running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 22 April. Both of the elite races were won by Kenyan athletes, and Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede was the only non-Kenyan to reach the podium in either race. Mary Jepkosgei Keitany won the women's elite race for the second year running with a Kenyan record time of 2:18:37 hours. Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich was the men's race winner with a time of 2:04:44 – four seconds off Emmanuel Kipchirchir Mutai's course record set at the 2011 London Marathon.
The 2013 London Marathon was the 33rd running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 21 April. The men's elite race was won by Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede and the women's race was won by Kenyan Priscah Jeptoo. Australian Kurt Fearnley won the men's wheelchair race, while American Tatyana McFadden won the women's wheelchair race with a new course record of 1:46:02.
The 2014 London Marathon was the 34th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 13 April. The men's elite race was won by Kenyan Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich and the women's race was won by Kenyan Edna Kiplagat. The men's wheelchair race was won by Switzerland's Marcel Hug and the women's wheelchair race was won by American Tatyana McFadden. Kipsang and McFadden set course records.
The 2015 London Marathon was the 35th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 26 April. The men's elite race was won by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and the women's race was won by Ethiopian Tigist Tufa. The 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships marathon events were also held during the race. The men's wheelchair race was won by Josh George from the United States and the women's wheelchair race was won by American Tatyana McFadden. McFadden set a course record for the second year running.
The 2016 London Marathon was the 36th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 24 April. The men's elite race was won by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and the women's race was won by Kenyan Jemima Sumgong. The men's wheelchair race was won by Marcel Hug from Switzerland and the women's wheelchair race was won by American Tatyana McFadden.
The 2017 London Marathon was the 37th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 23 April. Mary Jepkosgei Keitany won the women's race, setting a new women-only marathon world record with a time of 2:17:01, while Daniel Wanjiru came first in the men's race in 2:05:48. David Weir claimed a record breaking seventh win at the London Marathon in the men's wheelchair event. The win broke a tie between Weir and Tanni Gray Thompson for the most wins at the London Marathon.
The 2018 London Marathon was the 38th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 22 April. Kenyans Eliud Kipchoge and Vivian Cheruiyot won elite races. In the wheelchair races, Britain's David Weir and Australia's Madison de Rozario topped the podium.
The 2018 Chicago Marathon was the 41st edition of the Chicago Marathon, an annual marathon race that is held in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The race took place on the morning of October 7, 2018 in wet conditions, with a total of 44,584 runners completing. Britain's Mo Farah won the men's race, having gapped second placed Mosinet Geremew towards the end of the race, to take his only World Marathon Major win, in a European record time of 2:05:11. The women's race was won by Kenya's Brigid Kosgei in a personal best time of 2:18:35, nearly three minutes ahead of the next finisher. The men's wheelchair races came down to a sprint finish, which was won by Daniel Romanchuk, with Marcel Hug a second behind, while the women's race was won by Manuela Schär.
The 2019 London Marathon was the 39th running of the annual marathon race in London, United Kingdom, which took place on 28 April. The elite men's race was won by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, who took his fourth London Marathon victory in a time of 2:02:37, the second fastest marathon ever at that point. The women's race was won by Brigid Kosgei, also of Kenya, in 2:18:20. American Daniel Romanchuk won the men's wheelchair title in 1:33:38 while Switzerland's Manuela Schär won the women's title in 1:44:09. Changes were made to the course to make it more environmentally friendly; the number of plastic bottles used was reduced and biodegradable alternatives were used instead.
The 2019 Chicago Marathon was the 42nd annual running of the Chicago Marathon held in Chicago, Illinois, United States on October 13, 2019. The men's race was won by Kenyan Lawrence Cherono in 2:05:45 while the women's was won by Kenyan Brigid Kosgei in 2:14:04, a world record by 81 seconds. The men's and women's wheelchair races were won by Daniel Romanchuk and Manuela Schär in 1:30:26 and 1:41:08, respectively. More than 45,000 runners completed the race.
The 2020 London Marathon was the 40th running of the annual marathon race in London, United Kingdom, which took place on 4 October 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was postponed from 26 April and only allowed elite participants; the mass participation event was cancelled. The event used a different course from usual, consisting of multiple laps around St James's Park.
The 2021 New York City Marathon, the 50th running of that city's premier long-distance race, was held on November 7, 2021. Around 30,000 people ran in the event, of whom 25,020 finished. The race followed its traditional route, which passes through all five boroughs of New York City.
The 2021 London Marathon was the 41st running of the annual London Marathon on 3 October 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was postponed from April until October to maximise the chances of a mass participation event.
The 2022 London Marathon was the 42nd running of the annual London Marathon on 2 October 2022. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the race was postponed from April until October to maximise the chances of a mass participation event. The elite men's and women's event were won by Kenyan Amos Kipruto and Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw respectively. The wheelchair races were won by Swiss athletes Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner respectively, both in course record times. Over 40,000 people finished the mass participation event.
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