Hopeful Jepchichir predicts tough London Marathon

The 2020 Olympic marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir expects fireworks at this year’s London Marathon, which she says will be “like a mini-Olympic,” owing to the mouthwatering elite women line-up.

The April 27 event has attracted some six marathoners who hold personal bests of under 2:17:00, including world record holder Ruth Chepngetich, the only woman ever who has dipped under 2:10:00, when she ran an astonishing 2:00:56 in last year’s Chicago Marathon.

Second fastest woman ever in the 42-kilometre race Tigist Assefa of Ethiopia (2:11:53) is also in the line-up, the two-time Berlin Marathon champion coming with an intention to make up for her miss at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she settled for a silver.

Enigmatic Olympic champion Sifan Hassan of Holland, whose magic of balancing between the track and full marathons still wows athletics pundits, is also set to compete at the English capital, and brings an impressive personal best of 2:13:44.

The race will also include Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya, the 2021 London Marathon champion, and Alemu Megertu of Ethiopia, the two-time podium finisher at the London Marathon and winner of the 2024 Valencia Marathon.

Jepkosgei and Megertu, whose personal bests are 2:16:24 and 2:16:34 respectively, were third and fourth at the 2024 London Marathon, further enriching the field, which Jepchirchir says, could offer a jaw-dropping show to the world.

“I don’t know why the organisers decided to have all of us there. It will be very interesting for everyone to watch but very tough for the competing athletes. I personally feel the tension when I consider how strong the field is, because for sure it cannot be easy.

“At the same time it gives me more reasons to work hard, no one can afford to sleep ahead of such a race, which makes it even more interesting,” assessed the women-only marathon record holder.

Jepchirchir agrees with Hugh Brasher, CEO of London Marathon who has described this year’s event as “quite simply the greatest elite field in the history of the London Marathon.”

“We have all four Paralympic and Olympic marathon champions… We are welcoming back all our defending champions and, excitingly, Ruth Chepngetich who produced one of the most outstanding athletic performances of all time when she became the first woman to run inside 2:10 at Chicago last year.

“In Ruth, Sifan Hassan and Tigist Assefa we have the three fastest women of all time in the field in a thrilling showdown. All three have run inside 2:14 and no marathon in history has ever had a faster line-up. We are always proud when we hear athletes say that the TCS London Marathon is harder to win than the Olympic or Paralympic marathon. The reason they say that is because of the quality of the fields we assemble here in London and this year, our historic 45th edition, is stronger than ever before.”

In sharing Brasher’s view, Jepchirchir admits that her women-only record which she set last year in London (2:16:16) is under serious threat going into the April 27 event.

“The field is very strong, so it’s very possible that my record will be broken. Many records have been broken recently in different races and so you expect to see faster times. I’m not limiting myself from breaking it also. There is a fighting chance for all, it depends on the athletes’ form that day because we don’t have pacemakers in the London Marathon. My encouragement is that I’m fully fit, so I’ll fight,” observed Jepchirchir, who smashed Mary Keitany’s record of 2:17:01, which had lasted since 2017.

After agonisingly settling for an unusual 15th-place finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Jepchirchir who is currently training in Kenya’s famous high-altitude camp in Kapsabet, feels motivated having shaken off the injury that troubled her towards the race.

“I’m happy that I’ve recovered fully, and my training is now uninterrupted. Last year was tough as I sustained a hip injury, which really changed a lot. That is why I did not compete at any other event after the Paris Olympics, having only competed at the London Marathon just a few months before the Olympics. I have not competed this year also, not even at the local cross-countries. All my focus is on the London Marathon which I hope to really give a good show,” added the two-time world half-marathon champion

- Tokyo World Championships -

Jepchirchir knows how important the London Marathon is for her, if she is to seal a spot in Team Kenya for the Tokyo World Championships set for September 2025.

“I have never competed at any World Athletics Championship, and I would really like to represent my country in this year’s event. It is no secret the major marathons taking place early this year could be used to select Team Kenya for the Tokyo championships, so I have that one in mind.

“We several top Kenyan marathoners right now, which I’m very proud of as a Kenyan. It’s therefore going to be a very competitive process for the athletes eyeing slots to Japan, but it would be really great to represent my country at the world championships.”

At the same time, she has cautioned pouring of cold water on athletes’ successes, reflecting on an infamous interview after her compatriot Chepng’etich broke the world record in Chicago.

In the interview, the journalist appeared to question the possibility of breaking a world record with a considerable margin without using performance-enhancing drugs.

“People need to appreciate the sacrifices athletes make while preparing for these races. It was unfair for someone to suggest that Ruth’s record could have been undeserved, while we all know how hard she had worked for it and previously came close to it.

“Records are broken by athletes from any part of the globe, in different races, and I think the best one can do is to congratulate an athlete on such a huge achievement. I’m personally so proud of her (Ruth)…” she concluded.