London Marathon 2024 LIVE: Peres Jepchirchir breaks women’s-only world record as 50,000 run 26-mile race
A world record 578,000 people entered the ballot for this year’s event in the capital
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Reigning Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir crushed the women’s-only world record in winning the 44th London Marathon on Sunday, while Kenyan compatriot Alexander Mutiso Munyao raced to victory in the men’s race.
The 30-year-old Jepchirchir pulled away over the final 300m in a sprint finish, crossing the finish line in front of Buckingham Palace in two hours 16 minutes 16 seconds to break Mary Keitany’s mark of 2:17:01 set in a women-only race at the 2017 London event.
Munyao, 27, pumped his fist several times en route to the biggest victory of his career, pulling away from distance running great Kenenisa Bekele to cross in 2:04.01. Ethiopia’s 41-year-old Bekele – who has raced to three Olympic titles on the track and a remarkable 17 world titles in outdoor and indoor track and cross-country – was second in 2:04.15, while Britain’s Emile Cairess took third in 2:06.46.
Marcel Hug won the men’s wheelchair race, while Swiss team mate Catherine Debrunner won the women’s event.
More than 50,000 elite and charitable runners are taking to the streets of the capital on what is forecast to be a dry and bright Sunday with cool temperatures of 12C. A world record 578,000 people entered the ballot for this event, making it the most popular marathon in the world.
Follow all the latest updates from the London Marathon below.
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London Marathon 2024 officially begins
They’re off! The men and women’s wheelchair races are under way.
London Marathon 2024: Wheelchair races set to start
The wheelchair races are set to get going any moment now. British Paralympic great David Weir is participating in his 25th London Marathon! An extraordinary feat. He has won it eight times but the ninth has eluded him since his last win in 2018. Swiss racer Marcel Hug has won the past three London Marathons and is back for a fourth as the favourite...
London Marathon ballot: How to enter next year’s race
For those inspired or keen to experience the magic, you can apply for entry into next year’s race. Here’s all you need to know about the ballot and how to get into next year’s race:
London Marathon ballot: How can I enter next year’s race?
Everything you need to know about entering the ballot for next year’s race
Some early pictures as participants arrive at Blackheath for the start of the marathon:
What is the prize money on offer at the London Marathon?
This year’s London Marathon will make history as it becomes the first marathon in the world to pay wheelchair racers the same prize money as their able-bodied counterparts.
London Marathon wheelchair races were already the richest in the world, but a further increase of $54,500 (£43,000) to the prize money in 2024 means the total prize pot stands at $308,000 (£243,000), creating parity with the elite men’s and women’s able-bodied fields.
This means that all winners in the elite races of the 2024 London Marathon will receive $55,000 (£44,000), with the runner-up earning $30,000 (£23,700) and third-place $22,500 (£17,800).
What time does it start?
Here are today’s start times, with the wheelchair races kicking things off just after 9am on a fresh morning in London. The elite women’s race will get going just before half past nine, ahead of the elite men and then the mass start.
9.05am – Elite wheelchair men’s and women’s races.
9.25am – Elite women’s race.
10am – Elite men’s race followed by mass start.
ICYMI: Father says daughter’s cancer treatment ‘million times harder’ than marathon
A father running the TCS London Marathon to support Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity said his young daughter’s cancer treatment was “a million times harder” than tackling 26.2 miles.
Sky, now aged four, was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a tumour in her brain, in April 2021 after her parents noticed she lost her balance frequently and was not meeting some developmental milestones.
Full report:
Father says daughter’s cancer treatment ‘million times harder’ than marathon
Benedict Barton is running the London Marathon for Great Ormond Street Hospital which treated his daughter Sky, now four, with targeted chemotherapy.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the London Maraton.
The event gets underway in a few hours, with elite and charitable runners taking part in the 26.2 mile run across the capital.
Stay tuned for all the latest updates.
Date, times, route and how to watch race
The London Marathon returns in 2024 with another action-packed day of elite and charitable racing.
The annual road race in the English capital is again held in a traditional slot in April, with thousands entering the mass participation event and bidding to complete the 26.2-mile course.
Here is everything you need to know about when it starts, the route it will take and how to watch:
London Marathon 2024: Date, times, route and how to watch race
Everything you need to know ahead of the annual race
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