Kenyan Runner Breaks Women’s World Record at London Marathon, Wheelchair Racers Shine in Tough Conditions

During the London Marathon, Peres Jepchirchir, an Olympic champion from Kenya, broke the women’s-only world record. Jepchir sprinted down the Mall and crossed the finish line in two hours, 16 minutes, and 16 seconds. As she approached the final stretch, four runners were in contention. Tigst Assefa from Ethiopia finished second, Joyciline Jepkosgei third, and Megertu Alemu fourth. The previous record was set by Mary Jepkosgei Keitany in London in 2017 at 2 hours, 17 minutes, and 1 second.

Jepchir expressed her gratitude to the BBC for recognizing her achievement and mentioned that she had not expected to break a world record but had worked exceptionally hard for it. She also expressed excitement about being in Paris for the marathon and hoped to defend her title successfully next year. In the men’s wheelchair race, Marcel Hug secured a record fourth consecutive win with a time of 1 hour, 28 minutes, and 33 seconds. Daniel Romanchuk from the United States came in second while Britain’s David Weir claimed third place in his 25th consecutive London Marathon.

Weir highlighted the challenging conditions during the race including strong winds but expressed satisfaction with his performance. He described it as one of his best races on that course particularly keeping up with Marcel for over twenty miles. The women’s wheelchair race saw Catherine Debrunner from Switzerland winning comfortably by finishing over five minutes ahead of the closest competitor while Manuela Schar secured second place making it a one-two victory for Switzerland with American Tatyana McFadden coming in third. British racer Eden Rainbow-Cooper finished sixth in the race.