Are we going to see the first sub two-hour marathon at London this year?
That has to be a valid question after Jacob Kiplimo‘s astonishing new half marathon world record at the weekend raised expectations of what might unfold on April 27th.
There are stellar elite fields for both the men’s and women’s races in London, both looking like by far the strongest in the event’s 45-year history.
The three fastest women in the world are there – world record holder Ruth Chepngetich (2:09:56 at Chicago last year), Olympic champion and 2023 London winner Sifan Hassan and Paris silver medallist Tigst Assefa.
But after what Kiplimo achieved in Barcelona on Sunday, the anticipation for the men’s race is arguably just as high.
London calling
The Ugandan ran a remarkable 56 minutes and 42 seconds to chop a staggering 48 seconds off Yomif Kejelcha’s previous best mark of 57:30.
It’s the biggest progression in the men’s world record, which is some going considering it was less than 20 years ago that 59 minutes was broken for the first time by Haile Gebrselassie.
“I didn’t expect to break the world record,” said Kiplimo afterwards.
“But I started very strong in the first two kilometres to get away from my rivals. As the kilometres passed and I saw that I was going at record pace, I told myself that I had to maintain that pace no matter what it took.”
He also set a new best mark of 39:47 for 15km during the World Athletics event, which was run in ideal conditions of 13ºC with no wind.
Kiplimo makes his marathon debut at London so is obviously venturing into the unknown but based on the 24-year-old’s time in Barcelona the current world record, 2:00:35 set by the late Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya in the 2023 Chicago Marathon, has to be under threat.
Kipchoge’s 1:59
And up against Kiplimo in London will be the great Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, who holds the second-fastest time of 2:01:09.
He has won London four times and is running in the event for the first time since 2020.
He became the first man to go under two hours for the 26.2-mile distance when he clocked 1:59:40 as part of the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in 2019.
However that didn’t count as a world record as it was not an open event, he was handed fluids by his support team and rotating teams of other runners paced him in a formation designed to reduce wind resistance.
