London Marathon 2025 LIVE: Sabastian Sawe wins men’s race as Tigst Assefa sets world record
The London Marathon is prepared for a record-breaking year with over 56,000 people expected to take part
The 2025 London Marathon starts this morning with event organisers hoping to break the record for the world’s largest marathon. Over 56,000 people have signed up to tackle the 26.2-mile course ahead of the 45th annual London Marathon, with many raising funds for charities and good causes.
Organisers also assembled strong fields for the men’s and women’s elite races. Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s event for his biggest career victory after making a solo breakaway with about 10km left, and finished in 2hr 2min and 27sec. The great Eliud Kipchoge finished sixth as British triathlete Alex Yee came home in 14th place.
In the women’s race, Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa shattered the women's-only world record, pulling away from Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya over the final couple of kilometres after the two had set a blistering early pace. The 28-year-old Assefa, silver medallist in the event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, crossed the finish line in 2 hr, 15 min and 50 sec, beating the previous women's-only record set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir. Britain’s Eilish McColgan finished eigthh.
Follow live updates from the 2025 London Marathon in our blog below.
Yee ‘immensely proud’ after 14th-placed finish
Alex Yee endured more “dark moments” on his London Marathon debut than during his Olympic triathlon-winning turn in Paris but still declared it an experience of a lifetime.
Alex Yee ‘immensely proud’ after 14th-placed finish on London Marathon debut
Protesters disrupt London Marathon with powder demonstration on Tower Bridge
This is the moment protesters disrupted the London Marathon by throwing red powder on Tower Bridge.
The incident happened at around 10.35am on Sunday (27 April), as the men's elite runners approached the bridge.
The demonstrators, linked to the Youth Demand group, entered the race route after jumping the barriers. They wore t-shirts bearing the slogan "Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel."
Police officers quickly intervened and arrested the two individuals.
The marathon continued without interruption, and participants ran through the area affected by the powder.
Eilish McColgan delighted with eighth on debut
"I was very, very nervous. Probably the most nervous I have been. The distance was an unknown. I have never raced more than a half marathon so the thought of doing it back-to-back was scary. The crowds were insane."
Yee not taking up running just yet
Asked by the BBC if he would be competing in less triathlon events from now on, Yee said: “Definitely not. I am still hoping for LA Olympics. This is just an experiment really to help me improve my run. I’ve worked hard over the years to improve my bike and swim to get to that level so it’s nice to be able to work on this now."
Alex Yee: 'I am so proud'
"It was probably one of the best experiences of my life if I’m being honest. I expected the crowd to be good but they were another level.
"I am so proud to have completed the marathon.
"An amazing experience but it was hard at the end. I am just proud to have done it. Emotions about time will come afterwards, but the main thing for me today was to enjoy it, do something unknown and embrace it. I did that to my best of my ability. I feel like I gave 100%
This is bigger than running. It’s an amazing day and I wanted to be a part of it. This was the perfect opportunity."
Alex Yee finishes 14th in men's race
A phenomenal effort from Alex Yee today, who finished 14th in the men’s elite race less than a year after winning Olympic gold in the triathlon.
Swiss double in wheelchair races
It was a Swiss double in the wheelchair events, with Marcel Hug racing to his sixth London marathon title in 1:25:25 and Catherine Debrunner winning her third women's title in four years in 1:34:18, missing her own world record by two seconds.
Summary: Men's elite race
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the London Marathon on Sunday for his biggest career victory after making a solo breakaway with about 10km left.
Sawe pulled away from a leading group of nine runners about 90 minutes into the race and finished in 2 hours, 2 minutes and 27 seconds.
Sawe made his move when his rivals slowed down at a drinks station — opting not to take any water despite warm temperatures.
Jacob Kiplimo, the half marathon world record holder who was making his full marathon debut, was the only runner able to give chase but could never get close to erasing the gap. The Ugandan finished about 70 seconds back in second place.
Sawe's only previous marathon win came in Valencia in 2024.
He is the fourth Kenyan runner in a row to win the men's race in London.
Summary: Women's elite race
Eilish McColgan, the 10,000m gold medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, was eighth in her belated debut marathon in a Scottish record time of 2:24:25.
And she was not the only British woman in the top 10, which also included ninth-placed Rose Harvey in 2:25:01, but her compatriot Charlotte Purdue could not finish after pulling up with a calf issue.
Summary: Women's elite race
Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa shattered the women's-only world record in winning the 45th London Marathon on Sunday, pulling away from Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya over the final couple of kilometres after the two had set a blistering early pace.
The 28-year-old Assefa, silver medallist in the event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, crossed the finish line in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds, beating the previous women's-only record of 2:16:16 set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
Jepkosgei, 31, finished second in 2:18.44.
The sizzling early pace was too much for reigning Olympic marathon champion and 2024 London winner Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who fell back off the leaders around the halfway mark en route to finishing third in 2:19.00.
It was a Swiss double in the wheelchair events, with Marcel Hug racing to his sixth London marathon title in 1:25:25 and Catherine Debrunner winning her third women's title in four years in 1:34:18, missing her own world record by two seconds.
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