The 2023 London Marathon featured a thrilling women’s finish and saw the men’s winner run the second-fastest marathon ever. Over 48,000 runners crossed the line on a damp, overcast day. Here are the highlights from the British capital.
Hassan Wins Marathon Debut in Epic Comeback
Sifan Hassan ran 2:18:33 to win the London Marathon in a sprint finish, beating one of the strongest women’s fields in marathon history. Alemu Megertu, of Ethiopia, earned runner-up honors while the reigning Olympic marathon champion, Peres Jepchirchir, finished third.
This was Hassan’s debut at the marathon distance, after a highly successful career on the track, but her victory was not without obstacles. The Dutch athlete yo-yoed off the lead pack for much of the early race, even stopping twice to stretch her quad. It looked like she was on the verge of dropping out, but after restarting, she began to furiously chase down the leaders. Aided by a tactical race up front, Hassan rejoined the group 40K and used her signature kick to take down the field on the final straight.
Susanna Sullivan earned top American honors, running 2:24:27 for a 47-second PR to nab ninth place. The 32-year-old works as a teacher in the Washington, DC area.
One of the pre-race favorites—marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei—started the race but dropped out before the first mile. Kosgei mentioned she was having some hamstring issues before the race, and it was clear that she wasn’t 100 percent.
Kiptum Gives the World Record a Scare
Kelvin Kiptum used a ferocious surge just after 30K to break the race open to win in a course record 2:01:25. He’s now the second-fastest marathoner ever, behind Eliud Kipchoge’s world record of 2:01:09. Geoffrey Kamworor was second almost three minutes back in 2:04:23, while Tamirat Tola crossed the line in third in 2:04:59.
Kiptum will go home with $230,000 for winning the race and dipping under the course record and 2:03 barrier, and his second half marathon split—59:45—is the fastest second half of a marathon ever. The 23-year-old Kenyan passes Kenenisa Bekele on the all-time list—who started today’s race but dropped out after 25K.
Frank Lara, who trains with the Roots Running Project, was the top American, finishing in 11th place in 2:13:29. And four-time Olympic gold medal winner Mo Farah was two spots ahead, coming in at 2:10:28.
Murphy Wins Inaugural Nonbinary Division
Sam Murphy, of Ireland, won the nonbinary division with a time of 2:55:37. Liviu Ionita was second, in 2:58:22, followed by Piotr Ruszniak, who ran 2:58:40 to place third.
This is the first year participants were allowed to register as something other than “male” or “female,” with 88 runners completing the race in the category on Sunday. No prize money was offered in the division.
Hug Dominates—And a Close Women’s Wheelchair Finish
Marcel Hug took the men’s wheelchair title in a time of 1:23:44, winning by five minutes. This is his second major win within the last week after he won the Boston Marathon on Monday. The “Swiss Silver Bullet” has now won three London Marathons in a row.
Madison de Rozario, of Australia, won a thrilling women’s race, edging out Manuela Schär at the line. Catherine Debrunner and Boston winner Susannah Scaroni all finished within six seconds of the winner.
FloTrack Drops the Ball (Again)
Residents in the U.S.—plus Canada and Australia—could only watch the race via FloTrack. The stream, however, was either audio-only or completely down for the majority of the marathon, including the second half of both the men’s and women’s races. At an annual subscription price of $149.99 (or $29.99 month-by-month), the quality of coverage was, frankly, unacceptable. The fans deserve better. You can contact their customer service here.
Theo Kahler is the news editor at Runner’s World. He’s a former all-conference collegiate runner who has reported on the ground at major events such as the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials, and Boston Marathon. He’s run 14:20 in the 5K and enjoys spotting tracks from the sky on airplanes. (Look for colorful ovals around football fields.)
