The TCS London Marathon, one of the biggest and most coveted events on the British racing calendar, embarked on its 43rd edition on Sunday 21st April 2024. All eyes were on the streets of the UK’s capital as almost 50,000 runners gathered at the starting line in Greenwich Park. Their 26.2-mile journey took them past famous landmarks such as Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf, before coming to a royal close in front of Buckingham Palace.
More than one million people have completed the TCS London Marathon since its first edition in 1981. Runners of all levels are united in their quest to push their limits to the max, and soak up the atmosphere of the planet's most popular marathon.
The event kicked off in Blackheath at 9.05am with the Elite Wheelchair field, followed by the Elite women at 9.25am and the Elite men at 10am. Mass start waves took place between 10am and 11.30am, with the last runner expected to come in around eight hours later.
Three of the top four fastest women in history were on the startline on Sunday, and all of them had their eye on the women’s-only world record (2:17:01) set by the Kenyan Mary Keitany in the 2017 London Marathon. The race favourite was Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa, who set an outright world record of 2:11:53 at the Berlin Marathon last September. Other top contenders for the title were Brigid Kosgei, Ruth Chepngetich, and Peres Jepchirchir, vying for a spot on the Kenyan team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Marathon, and the Ethiopians Yalemzerf Yehualaw, Almaz Ayana, and Megertu Alemu.
The elite men’s race was headlined by reigning TCS New York City Marathon champion and record holder (2:04:58), Tamirat Tola (ETH), the seventh-fastest man in history, Mosinet Geremew (ETH, 2:02:55), and Alexander Mutiso Munyao (KEN), who was runner-up at the 2023 Valencia Marathon in a time of 2:03:11. Other men in contention were Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN) and Kenenisa Bekele (ETH).
Elite British runners to follow were Becky Briggs (PB of 2:29:06) and Alice Wright (PB of 2:29:08) in the women’s race, and Emile Cairess (PB of 2:08:07) and Callum Hawkins (PB of 2:08:14) in the men’s race.
Women's race
In the women’s race spectators were kept on tenterhooks with four women in contention up until the very last few metres: Peres Jespchirchir (KEN), Tigst Assefa (ETH), Megertu Alemu (ETH), and Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN).
It was reigning Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir who had the speed and endurance to claim the victory, with an impressive sprint finish over the closing 400 metres allowing her to secure a new Women-only Marathon World Record in a personal best time of 2:16:16. Tigst Assefa and Joyciline Jepkosgei came in a few seconds behind to secure second and third places respectively, with Megertu Alemu coming in 10 seconds later.
The first British athlete was Mhairi Maclennan, coming in 11th in her marathon debut, just outside of the qualifying time for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Men's race
Kenyan runner Alexander Mutiso Munyao secured the biggest victory of his life in 2:04:01, with a comfortable finish ahead of the Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele.
Incredible performances from British athletes saw Emile Cairess finish in third place to take the first podium place for a British man since Sir Mo Farah's third place in 2018. He was followed closely by Mahamed Mahamed. Both men moved progressively up the field during the last kilometres, allowing them to secure their places for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
2024 TCS London Marathon results
The top three athletes from the women's and men's races are as follows:
Women's results
- Peres Jepchirchir - 2:16:16 (KEN)
- Tigst Assefa - 02:16:23 (ETH)
- Joyciline Jepkosgei - 02:16:24 (KEN)
Men's results
- Alexander Mutiso Munyao - 2:04:01 (KEN)
- Kenenisa Bekele - 02:04:15 (ETH)
- Emile Cairess - 02:06:46 (GBR)
How to watch the replay
Televised coverage was on BBC One from 8.30am to 2pm and on BBC Two from 2pm to 3pm. Two live streams from Tower Bridge (11.30am to 2.30pm) and the finish line (1pm to 6pm) were available on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport app. Highlights from the race will be broadcast at 6pm on BBC Two.
Head over to BBC iPlayer to watch the race replay.
Full Results
Follow the link to access the full results from the 2024 TCS London Marathon
Join our community of runners and get exclusive discounts!
Read more news about: Running News
