Ethiopian female athlete competing in a marathon, showcasing resilience and dedication.
In the 2025 London Marathon, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa set a new world record in the women’s race, finishing in 2:15:50. She beat the previous record by 26 seconds. Assefa surged ahead in the final 10km, leaving Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei – the winner in 2021 – to settle for second place. In the men’s race, Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe claimed victory with a time of 2:02:27, pulling away from his competitors in the final stretch. Sawe triumphed over Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, who finished second in what was his full marathon debut. The wheelchair races saw Swiss victories, with Catherine Debrunner and Marcel Hug winning the women’s and men’s categories, respectively. Meanwhile, Great Britain’s Eilish McColgan marked her marathon debut with a Scottish record time.