FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ruth Chepngetich to race 2025 TCS London Marathon
New world record holder Ruth Chepngetich will run the 2025 TCS London
Marathon.
Chepngetich stunned the world at the 2024 Bank of America Chicago Marathon
where she became the first woman in history to break the historic two hour
10-minute barrier for the marathon.
The 30-year-old Kenyan clocked a time of 2:09:56 last October, knocking
nearly two minutes off the previous world record set by Ethiopia's Tigst
Assefa in 2023.
Chepngetich, who has won the Chicago Marathon on three occasions and
marathon gold at the World Championships in 2019, will now set her sights
on making her mark at the TCS London Marathon where she will come up
against the Olympic champion, Sifan Hassan (NED), and the reigning London
champion, Peres Jepchirchir (KEN), in a mouth-watering match-up of marathon
greats.
As well as being the defending champion, Jepchirchir is the owner of the
second world record which exists in women's marathon running – the
women-only race world record. Unlike the Chicago Marathon, where the elite
women run alongside their male counterparts, the TCS London Marathon has a
stand-alone elite women's race and Jepchirchir's winning time of 2:16:16 in
the 2024 edition was the fastest ever in this category.
Chepngetich believes with the calibre of field assembled that world record
could fall again at the 2025 TCS London Marathon, which takes place on
Sunday 27 April.
She said: "The TCS London Marathon always brings together the best athletes
in the world and I am sure this year will be as competitive as ever.
Myself, Peres and the other women are strong, so it will be a competitive
one and I want to prepare as best as I can and we will see if we can lower
Peres's world record of 2:16:16 from last year. With the strength of the
field, I think we can support each other and maybe the world record will
fall."
Chepngetich had gone close to re-writing the record books before her
incredible result in Chicago last year. At the 2022 Chicago Marathon she
finished within 14 seconds of the then world record (2:14:04, set by
Bridgid Kosgei in 2019), and says finally becoming a world record holder
last year was a dream come true.
She said: "I didn't know it was possible, but I came to realise that dreams
can come true. When you work hard, believe in yourself and have discipline,
everything is possible."
Chepngetich has raced the London Marathon twice before, finishing third in
the unique 2020 edition of the event, which was held on a multi-lap course
around St James's Park during the Covid-19 pandemic, and then ninth last
year.
In total, she has run three of the 10 fastest women's marathon times in
history and is the only woman to run inside 2:16 on three separate
occasions.
Chepngetich is the third name in the elite women's field for the 2025 TCS
London Marathon to be announced after Hassan and Jepchirchir.
In the men's field it has been announced that defending champion Alex
Mutiso (KEN) will return to defend his title. Mutiso's win at last year's
TCS London Marathon was the biggest of his career and helped him win
selection on the Kenyan marathon team for the Paris Olympic Games where he
finished in 21st place. Mutiso's opponents this year will include the
reigning Olympic champion Tamirat Tola (ETH) who was announced on Monday.
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