Sebastian Sawe wins his 1st London Marathon, Tigst Assefa posts women's-only world mark

Mattias Karen · The Associated Press

· Posted: Apr 27, 2025 9:34 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Running his archetypal large marathon successful unusually lukewarm temperatures, Sabastian Sawe made it look easy.

The Kenyan runner made a solo breakaway with astir 10 kilometres near and ne'er looked similar wavering successful the sunshine arsenic helium cruised to triumph successful the London Marathon connected Sunday. Sawe pulled distant from a starring radical of 9 runners astir 90 minutes into the contention and finished successful 2 hours 2 minutes 27 seconds.

Sawe made his determination erstwhile his rivals slowed down astatine a drinks station, opting not to instrumentality immoderate h2o contempt temperatures that crept toward 18 C arsenic the elite runners were finishing.

"I was good prepared for this contention and that's wherefore it became casual for maine to win," Sawe said.

Jacob Kiplimo, the fractional marathon satellite grounds holder who was making his afloat marathon debut, was the lone runner capable to springiness pursuit but could ne'er get adjacent to erasing the gap. The Ugandan finished 70 seconds backmost successful 2nd place.

The 29-year-old Sawe's lone erstwhile marathon triumph came successful Valencia successful 2024. This was his archetypal commencement successful 1 of the six marathon "majors" — Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City -- but it's improbable to beryllium his last.

"It does springiness maine anticipation that successful the future, the marathon volition beryllium truthful important to me, and beryllium truthful casual for me," helium said.

He is the 4th Kenyan runner successful a enactment to triumph the men's contention successful London.

In a choky sprint for 3rd place, Alexander Mutiso Munyao of Kenya bushed Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands successful a photograph finish.

Warmer upwind a immense help

In the women's race, Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia secured her archetypal London Marathon rubric aft pulling distant from Joyciline Jepkosgei adjacent the end.

Assefa made up for second-place finishes successful London and the Paris Olympics past year, finishing successful 2:15:50. It was the fastest ever clip successful a women's-only marathon, but 25 seconds slower than the people grounds acceptable by Paula Radcliffe successful 2003 erstwhile it was a mixed race.

The upwind successful London was a batch warmer this twelvemonth than successful 2024, which Assefa said was to her advantage.

"Last twelvemonth I did person immoderate problems with the cold, my hamstring tightened up toward the extremity of the race," Assefa said done an interpreter. "This twelvemonth the upwind suited maine truly well."

Assefa adds this triumph to 2 erstwhile Berlin Marathon titles.

Jepkosgei, the 2021 London winner, was astir 3 minutes backmost aft tiring adjacent the end.

Olympic champion Sifan Hassan fell down astir halfway done the contention and finished third, 3:10 behind.

Hug takes men's wheelchair race

Six-time Paralympic champion Catherine Debrunner defended her rubric successful the women's wheelchair contention for a 3rd London victory, beating her ain people grounds by finishing successful 1:34:18, 2 seconds disconnected the satellite grounds she acceptable astatine the Berlin marathon successful 2023.

American Susannah Scaroni was 2nd and Debrunner's compatriot Manuela Schar third.

Defending champion Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the men's wheelchair contention aft holding disconnected Japanese challenger Tomoki Suzuki.

Hug finished successful 1:25:25, 44 seconds up of Suzuki. Jetze Plat of the Netherlands was third, portion eight-time London Marathon victor David Weir of Britain settled for sixth.