London Marathon LIVE: Latest updates from 26-mile race after Amos Kipruto wins men’s event
40,000 people are set to compete in the long-distance race
The London marathon takes place today with athletes and members of the public prepared to tackle the 26-mile route around the British capital. The start is near Blackheath in Greenwich, with the route taking in landmarks such as the Cutty Sark, the Shard, the London Eye and Parliament before reaching the finish line at the Mall by Buckingham Palace.
28-year-old Kenyan, Brigid Kosgei, who won the London Marathon in 2019 and 2020 has withdrawn through injury but the women’s field still features Kosgei’s compatriot and last year’s winner Joyciline Jepkosgei (29) and Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw (23) who set the fastest debut time for a marathon and holds the world record in the 10km road race.
The men’s race looks set to be a tight affair with Kenya’s Titus Ekiru well-backed after victories in the 2021 Milan and Abu Dhabi marathons whilst Ethiopia’s Birhanu Legese will be amongst his closest contenders alongside 2021 London marathon winner and compatriot Sisay Lemma. Four-time London marathon winner Eliud Kipchoge will not compete, and neither will Great Britain’s Sir Mo Farah who has withdrawn due to a hip injury.
Follow all the action from the 2022 London marathon:
Britain’s champion
Weynay Ghebresilasie broke his own personal best in the men’s race at the London marathon today and finished first amongst all the British runners.
Forget Boston and New York – London Marathon is the best race for one simple reason
London recently saw millions of people drawn to its streets for a once in a lifetime event – the funeral of our monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. It was a day of heightened emotion, and the tears flowed for many of us. So it’s somewhat fitting that a mere couple of weeks later, the same streets of our capital city will see another spectacular and – for many – once in a lifetime event.
This time, for most, it will be tears of happiness, relief and joy that flow on the day, as nearly 50,000 humans run, jog, whee, and stumble their way around the historic marathon course. This weekend is the world-famous road race, the London Marathon. And, just to be clear, the London Marathon is the very best marathon on planet Earth.
If you’ve never wobbled precariously on a pavement edge, desperately craning your neck in the hope of catching a three-second glimpse of a close (or often distant) relative, friend or colleague, then you won’t understand what I mean. Because this is the thing about the London Marathon, and one of the key reasons why it’s the greatest marathon: you don’t actually have to do any running to be swept up in the emotion of it all.
You can stand and watch the runners streaming past for hours, each with their own very personal story as to why they decided to enter it. Some will run to say they’ve done it and ticked the experience off their bucket list, some to raise eye-watering amounts of money for causes close to their hearts.
Opinion: London Marathon is the best race on Earth for one simple reason
You don’t actually have to do any running to be swept up in the emotion of it all
Yalemzerf Yehualaw wins women’s race as Amos Kipruto triumphs in men’s at London marathon
Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw recovered from a fall to win the women’s race at the London Marathon.
Yehualaw appeared to trip on a speed bump with six miles remaining but recovered to rejoin the leading pack.
The 23-year-old came home in 2 hours 17 minutes and 25 seconds – the third fastest time at the event – as defending champion Joyciline Jepkosgei, of Kenya, had to settle for second.
London debutant Amos Kipruto, a world bronze medallist in Doha in 2019, won the men’s race. The 30-year-old Kenyan clocked 2:04.39 ahead of Ethiopia’s Leul Gebresilase with Bashir Abdi of Belgium in third.
Yehualaw and Kipruto triumph at 2022 London Marathon
London Marathon results: Yalemzerf Yehualaw recovers to win women’s race as Amos Kipruto triumphs in men’s
7,000 children take part in mini marathon
For the first time, the Mini Marathon was a standalone event the day before the London Marathon and took place on Saturday.
About 7,000 children took part across one-mile and 2.6km with the hope is that this race will be as big as the main event by 2030.
World record holder Eliud Kipchoge cheered them on and handed out medals to the winners.
‘Anything is possible’: Eliud Kipchoge tipped to break two-hour marathon barrier
Eliud Kipchoge can break the two-hour barrier in the marathon with Olympic bronze medallist Bashir Abdi proclaiming “anything is possible” for the legendary Kenyan runner.
The 37-year-old took 30 seconds off his own world record at last Sunday’s Berlin Marathon, passing half-way in under one hour before eventually fading slightly to post a staggering time of 2hrs 1min and 9secs.
Kipchoge has run an unofficial time of 1hr 59mins and 40secs in Vienna three years ago, but the effort was not performed under race conditions, while he was also helped by 41 pacemakers, who dipped in and out of the course.
‘Anything is possible’: Eliud Kipchoge tipped to break two-hour marathon barrier
London Marathon 2022: Eliud Kipchoge tipped to break two-hour marathon barrier by Bashir Abdi
There’s also a tree running
The masses are out in force to take on the marathon today with many a fancy dress on show including this runner dressed as a tree:
Big Ben is back!
GP Simon Phillips is running his 26.2 miles today dresses in a Big Ben costume that Lukas Bates used to crumble over the finish line in 2019.
“I ran the London Marathon in 2016 and loved it, I decided if I ever ran it again I would do it in a costume,” Phillips explained.
“I asked the team at Alzheimer’s Research UK for costume ideas and when they said they had the famous Big Ben costume I jumped at the chance to run in it.”
He says he has practiced bending in the tower to help him deal with the finish line as he runs in aid of Alzheimer’s Research UK in memory of his father, Robert, who died with the disease in 2016.
Back in spring
This is the third and final time the London Marathon will be held in the autumn since it was moved from its traditional April date due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
2023 sees the race take place in spring once again and is scheduled for Saturday 23rd April.
Over 50,000 runners race through city for London marathon
Over 50,000 runners pounded the streets of the city as the 2022 London Marathon kicked off this morning (2 September).
Footage recorded by The Independent‘s Holly Patrick shows race participants as they made their way through Deptford on the 26-mile route.
The route is taking runners from Greenwich past landmarks such as the Cutty Sark, the Shard, and the London Eye, before reaching the finish line by Buckingham Palace.
There are 28 official Guinness World Record attempts being made today, including the fastest marathons dressed as a bottle, and the fastest on crutches.
London Marathon: Over 50,000 runners race through city
Over 50,000 runners pounded the streets of the city as the 2022 London Marathon kicked off this morning (2 September). Footage recorded by The Independent's Holly Patrick shows race participants as they made their way through Deptford on the 26-mile route. The route is taking runners from Greenwich past landmarks such as the Cutty Sark, the Shard, and the London Eye, before reaching the finish line by Buckingham Palace. There are 28 official Guinness World Record attempts being made today, including the fastest marathons dressed as a bottle, and the fastest on crutches. Click here to sign up for our newsletters.
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