Nobody was expecting Eliud Kipchoge to win the Elite men’s race at Sunday’s 2025 London Marathon, but he proved that age is no barrier to greatness at the age of 40.
The GOAT of marathon running has won this iconic race four times, the last time in 2019. He is no longer the the runner who once dipped under two hours with that epic 1:59:40 in an INEOS-drive challenge in Vienna in October 2019.
But on Sunday in London, Kipchoge – who had not raced since Paris 2024, when he failed to finish for the first time in his career, dropping out after 19 miles with a back injury – rolled back the years with a terrific performance. It was the first time he had raced here in five years, and it was worth the wait.
The Kenyan great was right up with the contenders at the head of the field setting a brutal pace through the first 30k, and looking good in doing it. It was not until the field reached Canary Wharf that Kipchoge started to throw out any distress signals as he fell away from the men battling for victory.
While fellow Kenyan Sabastian Sawe roared on to claim victory, Kipchoge refused to let the course beat him and came home in a highly creditable sixth position in a time of 2:05:25.
Before the race Kipchoge had spoken of his affection for a full English breakfast, revealing: “I like English food, I like English breakfast. I like total English breakfast – bacon, sausages, toasted bread, eggs. It can fuel me. When you are really fit enough, the food doesn’t always matter, providing it provides energy!”
So maybe it was a ‘full fry’ that powered Kipchoge to that terrific performance on Sunday, but either way he came out of the race with his reputation yet again enhanced. A wonderful ambassador for the sport at the age of 40.
Eliud Kipchoge time splits
After he had finished on Sunday, Kipchoge’s splits looked like this:
| Split | Time | Diff | min/km | km/h | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5K | 00:14:25 | 14:25 | 02:53 | 20.81 | 4 |
| 10K | 00:28:57 | 14:32 | 02:55 | 20.65 | 3 |
| 15K | 00:43:36 | 14:39 | 02:56 | 20.48 | 1 |
| 20K | 00:58:18 | 14:42 | 02:57 | 20.41 | 5 |
| Half | 01:01:31 | 03:13 | 02:56 | 20.54 | 6 |
| 25K | 01:13:00 | 11:29 | 02:57 | 20.37 | 4 |
| 30K | 01:27:49 | 14:49 | 02:58 | 20.25 | 9 |
| 35K | 01:42:57 | 15:08 | 03:02 | 19.82 | 8 |
| 40K | 01:58:39 | 15:42 | 03:09 | 19.11 | 7 |
| Finish | 02:05:25 | 06:46 | 03:05 | 19.46 | 6 |
London Marathon Results – Elite Men
Sunday April 27, 2025
- 1. Sabastian Sawe (KEN) – 2:02:27
- 2. Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) – 2:03:37
- 3. Alexander Mutiso Munyao (KEN) – 2:04:20
- 4. Abdi Nageeye (NED) – 2:04:20
- 5. Tamirat Tola (ETH) – 2:04:42
- 6. Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) – 2:05:25
- 7. Hillary Kipkoech (KEN) – 2:06:05
- 8. Amanal Petros (GER) – 2:06:30
- 9. Mahamed Mahamed (GBR) – 2:08:52
- 10. Milkesa Mengesha (ETH) – 2:09:01
- 14: Alex Yee (GBR) – 2:11:08
