London Marathon 2023 LIVE: Latest updates as Kelvin Kiptum breaks men’s record and Sifan Hassan wins women’s
Sir Mo Farah finished ninth on his final London Marathon appearance following two extraordinary races in the men’s and women’s events
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The London Marathon is back in its usual April spot and some of the world’s most elite long-distance athletes are set to compete across the capital city’s streets on Sunday - as well as thousands of others taking part in the general public.
Sifan Hassan was a surprise winner of the women’s race on her debut over the distance, while Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum won the men’s race in the second fastest marathon in history. The first British man home was not Sir Mo Farah, but Yorkshire’s Emile Cairess, who finished a creditable sixth on his marathon debut. Another Briton, Philip Sesemann, outsprinted Farah on the final straight to finish eighth. Farah came home in his final marathon in ninth.
The course sees entrants will start in south Greenwich, heading back towards the centre of London on to cut by the Cutty Sark by the Thames, hugging the river as they travel through Bermondsey and crossing Tower Bridge. From there it’s through the old Docklands and Canary Wharf before doubling back to begin the final stretch through central London, passing the edge of St James’s Park and on to the famous finish on The Mall near Buckingham Palace.
Follow the 2023 London Marathon live below:
Sifan Hassan wins debut London Marathon in thrilling sprint finish
Sifan Hassan won the 2023 London Marathon on her debut in the distance, producing a sensational performance to defeat the Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir and Ethiopia’s Alemu Megertu in an astonishing sprint finish.
Hassan, the Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion in Tokyo, arrived in London just hoping to complete the race as the 30-year-old made the step up from the track. “I’m going to finish the distance or the distance is going to finish me,” the Dutchwoman said, but she triumphed in one of the greatest fields ever assembled for a marathon.
Hassan’s extraordinary victory came after she pulled up and stretched out her right 15 miles in, falling way off the pace. The Dutchwoman reeled in the leaders with three miles to go, then surviving confusion as she made a mess of collecting a drink from a water station. Hassan recovered, even offering rival Yalemzerf Yehualaw, last year’s winner, a swig from her bottle.
Down The Mall, Hassan used her track experience to pull away from Megertu and Jepchirchir in a sprint finish, coming home in two hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds. Hassan’s training for the marathon came while also observing Ramadan, where she did not eat or drink during daylight hours.
Full report:
Sifan Hassan wins debut London Marathon in thrilling sprint finish
Hassan overcame a leg injury earlier in the race to win the London Marathon on her debut
London Marathon
Tens of thousands of people have braved the pouring rain to complete what is likely to have been the largest London Marathon in history and which also saw a new top time in the men’s elite race.
Some 49,675 runners registered for this year’s race, up from the previous record of 43,199 in 2019 – and around 48,000 are expected to have crossed the finish line on Sunday.
TCS London Marathon organisers said they expanded numbers in an attempt to reach a cap of 50,000.
Meanwhile, amateur runners broke 45 Guinness World Records, including Alex Grady for fastest time dressed as a boxer and Richard Allison for quickest while dressed as a three-dimensional dinosaur.
BBC Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts, who began using a stoma bag in 2021 following surgery for bowel cancer, completed the fastest marathon for a person with an ileostomy, with a time of 3:30:22.
Kelvin Kiptum smashes London Marathon record in extraordinary result
Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum ran the second fastest time in history to win the London Marathon, shattering the course record, in an astonishing performance that at one stage threatened to break Eliud Kipchoge’s world best.
The 23-year-old Kiptum destroyed the field with the fastest second half of a marathon in history, finishing well clear with a time of 2:01.27 - the quickest ever in London. Kiptum tired towards the end and finished 18 seconds short of Kipchoge’s world record, but his performance suggested the great Kipchoge’s time could be under threat in the near future.
Sir Mo Farah finished ninth on his final appearance at the London Marathon, with the British great finishing behind compatriots Emile Cairess and Phil Sesemann. The top three was rounded out by Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor and Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola, who had been left behind by the remarkable Kiptum.
It was the second extraordinary performance of the day in London, after Sifan Hassan won the women’s race in what was her marathon debut.
Kelvin Kiptum smashes London Marathon record in extraordinary result
Kiptum blew the race apart with the second fastest time in history while Sir Mo Farah finished ninth on his final appearance at the London Marathon
London Marathon
XR activist Tom Crowther, 22, who cycled from Kent to attend the climate group’s four-day protests, said: “I think a lot of the people who are supporting the marathon probably also support a lot of the values of Extinction Rebellion.”
On speculation that protesters could try to disrupt the race, he said: “I do think it’s quite a desperate situation that we are in globally and I wouldn’t think badly of them (if anyone did disrupt the race).
“But I’m here to support the people who are running.
“I also hope nobody does (disrupt it) but we’ll see, everyone been told not to.”
London Marathon
An Extinction Rebellion (XR) activist stewarding people near the TCS London Marathon said there were “a handful of naughty people” who would have liked to block the race to protest about the climate situation”.
Up to 50,000 XR activists are in Westminster, central London, for the third day of a protest dubbed “The Big One”, with the race and rally intersecting as runners pass the Houses of Parliament.
The proximity of the two events had sparked fears climate protesters could try to disrupt the annual race.
XR said they would not intentionally do so but direct action protest group Just Stop Oil (JSO) refused to say whether activists might attempt to interrupt it.
Michel, 63, who withheld his last name, lives in Brussels, Belgium, but travelled to central London for Extinction Rebellion’s four-day protest.
Speaking at a barrier to the race route near Parliament on Sunday, he told the PA news agency: “I’m supporting the Extinction Rebellion group and today we are helping the event of the London Marathon as a steward because we would like to stop people from disrupting the race.
“There are a handful of naughty people who would like to block the race to protest about the climate situation.
“We believe a handful of people might want to do an action to block the race to protest that we are not doing anything for the climate and we would like to stop that because we don’t believe it’s necessary.”
‘Training for a marathon a decade after my last one taught me a crucial lesson'
“Now, I don’t want to put you off darling… but you did say that if you ever mentioned running a marathon again, I was to tell you not to do it?”
My mum says this with an air of anxious trepidation that’s somewhat dampened by defeatism. She already knows it’s too late; she already knows I’m a goner.
Only one offer could ever have tempted me to break my ironclad pact: a place in the London Marathon.
Opinion: Training for a marathon after a decade taught me one crucial lesson
I may be older, softer and more perpetually exhausted, but I now know that I’m mentally stronger than twenty-something Helen ever was
Peaceful protests at the London Marathon
Stunning finish from Sifan Hassan
It’s hard to overstate how extraordinary that run from Sifan Hassan was.
From pulling up with a tight hip, to catching up with the best marathon runners in the world, to pulling clear with a sprint down the Mall.
‘I wanted to cry’: Sir Mo Farah bids emotional farewell to London Marathon
An emotional Sir Mo Farah finished ninth on his final appearance at the London Marathon and confirmed September’s Great North Run will be his final race.
The Olympic great came home in two hours, ten minutes and 28 seconds and was beaten to the line by fellow Briton Philip Sesemann on the final straight.
Yorkshire’s Emile Cairess was two places higher in sixth on his marathon debut, but Farah was roared around the streets of London as he bid farewell to the race.
The 40-year-old said he will now look to “give back” to the sport once he waves his final goodbye in Newcastle later this year.
“London has been so great to me over the years and I wanted to be here to say thank you to the crowd and the support that was just amazing,” Farah told the BBC.
‘I wanted to cry’: Sir Mo Farah bids emotional farewell to London Marathon
Farah said September’s Great North Run will be his final race
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