London Marathon results 2025: Sabastian Sawe wins men’s race as Tigst Assefa sets world record – UK Times

“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.”

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.”

“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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

The great Eliud Kipchoge comes through in fifth place.