A London Marathon all-time winners list. The London Marathon, one of the six World Marathon Majors, has been contested by men and women annually since 29 March 1981. Set over a largely flat course around the River Thames, the marathon is 26.2 miles (42.2 km) in length and generally regarded as a competitive and unpredictable event, and conducive to fast times.
The inaugural marathon had 7,741 entrants, 6,255 of whom completed the race. The first Men’s Elite Race was tied between American Dick Beardsley and Norwegian Inge Simonsen, who crossed the finish line holding hands in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 48 seconds.
The first Women’s Elite Race was won by Briton Joyce Smith in 2:29:57. In 1983, the first wheelchair races took place. Organized by the British Sports Association for the Disabled (BASD), 19 people competed and 17 finished. Gordon Perry of the United Kingdom won the Men’s Wheelchair Race, coming in at 3:20:07, and Denise Smith, also of the UK, won the Women’s Wheelchair Race in 4:29:03.
Twenty athletes representing the United Kingdom have won the London Marathon a total of forty times. The most recent win by a British athlete was in the 2012 London Marathon, by David Weir in the Men’s Wheelchair Race. It was his sixth win in London. Kenya has the second largest number of winning athletes.
Seven Kenyan men and six Kenyan women have been victorious a total of sixteen times, all in the able-bodied category. Eleven men, including those from the wheelchair races, have won the marathon more than once, Weir’s six wins being the record.
Sixteen women have been winners more than once; Tanni Grey-Thompson won the women’s wheelchair race six times between 1992 and 2002.
Course records for the London Marathon have been set ten times in the men’s race, seven times in the women’s race, fifteen times in the men’s wheelchair race, and thirteen times in the women’s wheelchair race.
World records for marathon running have been set four times. Khalid Khannouchi, representing the United States, set the men’s world record in 2:05:38 in 2002. The following year, British runner Paula Radcliffe set the women’s world record in 2:15:25, which also stands as the current course record in the Women’s Elite Race. Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya set the course record at 2:03:05 in 2016 in the Men’s Elite Race.
Kurt Fearnley set the Men’s Wheelchair Race course record at 1:28:57 in 2009. The course record for the Women’s Wheelchair Race was set by American athlete Tatyana McFadden in 2013, with 1:46:02.
London Marathon elite race men’s winners
Year | Athlete | Nationality | Time (h:m:s) |
---|---|---|---|
1981 | Dick Beardsley / Inge Simonsen (Tie) | United States / Norway | 2:11:48 |
1982 | Hugh Jones | United Kingdom | 2:09:24 |
1983 | Mike Gratton | United Kingdom | 2:09:43 |
1984 | Charlie Spedding | United Kingdom | 2:09:57 |
1985 | Steve Jones | United Kingdom | 2:08:16 |
1986 | Toshihiko Seko | Japan | 2:10:02 |
1987 | Hiromi Taniguchi | Japan | 2:09:50 |
1988 | Henrik Jørgensen | Denmark | 2:10:20 |
1989 | Douglas Wakiihuri | Kenya | 2:09:03 |
1990 | Allister Hutton | United Kingdom | 2:10:10 |
1991 | Yakov Tolstikov | Soviet Union | 2:09:17 |
1992 | António Pinto | Portugal | 2:10:02 |
1993 | Eamonn Martin | United Kingdom | 2:10:50 |
1994 | Dionicio Cerón | Mexico | 2:08:53 |
1995 | Dionicio Cerón | Mexico | 2:08:30 |
1996 | Dionicio Cerón | Mexico | 2:10:00 |
1997 | António Pinto | Portugal | 2:07:55 |
1998 | Abel Antón | Spain | 2:07:57 |
1999 | Abdelkader El Mouaziz | Morocco | 2:07:57 |
2000 | António Pinto | Portugal | 2:06:36 |
2001 | Abdelkader El Mouaziz | Morocco | 2:07:09 |
2002 | Khalid Khannouchi | United States | 2:05:38 |
2003 | Gezahegne Abera | Ethiopia | 2:07:56 |
2004 | Evans Rutto | Kenya | 2:06:18 |
2005 | Martin Lel | Kenya | 2:07:35 |
2006 | Felix Limo | Kenya | 2:06:39 |
2007 | Martin Lel | Kenya | 2:07:41 |
2008 | Martin Lel | Kenya | 2:05:15 |
2009 | Samuel Wanjiru | Kenya | 2:05:10 |
2010 | Tsegaye Kebede | Ethiopia | 2:05:19 |
2011 | Emmanuel Mutai | Kenya | 2:04:40 |
2012 | Wilson Kipsang | Kenya | 2:04:44 |
2013 | Tsegaye Kebede | Ethiopia | 2:06:04 |
2014 | Wilson Kipsang | Kenya | 2:04:29 |
2015 | Eliud Kipchoge | Kenya | 2:04:42 |
2016 | Eliud Kipchoge | Kenya | 2:03:05 |
2017 | Daniel Wanjiru | Kenya | 2:05:48 |
2018 | Eliud Kipchoge | Kenya | 2:04:17 |
2019 | Eliud Kipchoge | Kenya | 2:02:37 |
London Marathon elite race women’s winners
Year | Athlete | Nationality | Time (h:m:s) |
---|---|---|---|
1981 | Joyce Smith | United Kingdom | 2:29:57 |
1982 | Joyce Smith | United Kingdom | 2:29:43 |
1983 | Grete Waitz | Norway | 2:25:29 |
1984 | Ingrid Kristiansen | Norway | 2:24:26 |
1985 | Ingrid Kristiansen | Norway | 2:21:06 |
1986 | Grete Waitz | Norway | 2:24:54 |
1987 | Ingrid Kristiansen | Norway | 2:22:48 |
1988 | Ingrid Kristiansen | Norway | 2:25:41 |
1989 | Véronique Marot | United Kingdom | 2:25:56 |
1990 | Wanda Panfil | Poland | 2:26:31 |
1991 | Rosa Mota | Portugal | 2:26:14 |
1992 | Katrin Dörre-Heinig | Germany | 2:29:39 |
1993 | Katrin Dörre-Heinig | Germany | 2:27:09 |
1994 | Katrin Dörre-Heinig | Germany | 2:32:34 |
1995 | Małgorzata Sobańska | Poland | 2:27:43 |
1996 | Liz McColgan | United Kingdom | 2:27:54 |
1997 | Joyce Chepchumba | Kenya | 2:26:51 |
1998 | Catherina McKiernan | Ireland | 2:26:26 |
1999 | Joyce Chepchumba | Kenya | 2:23:22 |
2000 | Tegla Laroupe | Kenya | 2:24:33 |
2001 | Derartu Tulu | Ethiopia | 2:23:57 |
2002 | Paula Radcliffe | United Kingdom | 2:18:56 |
2003 | Paula Radcliffe | United Kingdom | 2:15:25 |
2004 | Margaret Okayo | Kenya | 2:22:35 |
2005 | Paula Radcliffe | United Kingdom | 2:17:42 |
2006 | Deena Kastor | United States | 2:19:35 |
2007 | Zhou Chunxiu | China | 2:20:38 |
2008 | Irina Mikitenko | Germany | 2:24:14 |
2009 | Irina Mikitenko | Germany | 2:22:11 |
2010 | Aselefech Mergia | Ethiopia | 2:22:38 |
2011 | Mary Keitany | Kenya | 2:19:19 |
2012 | Mary Keitany | Kenya | 2:18:37 |
2013 | Priscah Jeptoo | Kenya | 2:20:15 |
2014 | Edna Kiplagat | Kenya | 2:20:21 |
2015 | Tigist Tufa | Ethiopia | 2:23:21 |
2016 | Jemima Sumgong | Kenya | 2:22:58 |
2017 | Mary Keitany | Kenya | 2:17:01 |
2018 | Vivian Cheruiyot | Kenya | 2:18:31 |
2019 | Brigid Kosgei | Kenya | 2:18:20 |
London Marathon wheelchair race men’s winners
Year | Athlete | Nationality | Time (h:m:s) |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Gordon Perry | United Kingdom | 3:20:07 |
1984 | Kevin Breen | Ireland | 2:38:40 |
1985 | Chris Hallam | United Kingdom | 2:19:53 |
1986 | Gerry O’Rourke | Ireland | 2:26:38 |
1987 | Chris Hallam | United Kingdom | 2:08:34 |
1988 | Ted Vince | Canada | 2:01:37 |
1989 | David Holding | United Kingdom | 1:59:31 |
1990 | Hakan Ericsson | Sweden | 1:57:12 |
1991 | Farid Amarouche | France | 1:52:52 |
1992 | Daniel Wesley | Canada | 1:51:42 |
1993 | George Vandamme | Belgium | 1:44:10 |
1994 | David Holding | United Kingdom | 1:46:06 |
1995 | Heinz Frei | Switzerland | 1:39:14 |
1996 | David Holding | United Kingdom | 1:43:48 |
1997 | David Holding | United Kingdom | 1:42:15 |
1998 | Heinz Frei | Switzerland | 1:35:18 |
1999 | Heinz Frei | Switzerland | 1:35:27 |
2000 | Kevin Papworth | United Kingdom | 1:41:50 |
2001 | Denis Lemeunier | France | 1:42:37 |
2002 | David Weir | United Kingdom | 1:39:44 |
2003 | Joel Jeannot | France | 1:32:02 |
2004 | Saúl Mendoza | Mexico | 1:36:56 |
2005 | Saúl Mendoza | Mexico | 1:35:51 |
2006 | David Weir | United Kingdom | 1:29:48 |
2007 | David Weir | United Kingdom | 1:30:51 |
2008 | David Weir | United Kingdom | 1:33:56 |
2009 | Kurt Fearnley | Australia | 1:28:57 |
2010 | Josh Cassidy | Canada | 1:35:21 |
2011 | David Weir | United Kingdom | 1:30:05 |
2012 | David Weir | United Kingdom | 1:32:26 |
2013 | Kurt Fearnley | Australia | 1:31:29 |
2014 | Marcel Hug | Switzerland | 1:32:41 |
2015 | Joshua George | United States | 1:31:31 |
2016 | Marcel Hug | Switzerland | 1:35:19 |
2017 | David Weir | United Kingdom | 1:31:06 |
2018 | David Weir | United Kingdom | 1:31:15 |
2019 | Daniel Romanchuk | United States | 1:33:38 |
London Marathon wheelchair race women’s winners
Year | Athlete | Nationality | Time (h:m:s) |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Denise Smith | United Kingdom | 4:29:03 |
1984 | Kay McShane | Ireland | 3:10:04 |
1985 | Kay McShane | Ireland | 2:47:12 |
1986 | Kay McShane | Ireland | 3:02:40 |
1987 | Karen Davidson | United Kingdom | 2:45:30 |
1988 | Karen Davidson | United Kingdom | 2:41:45 |
1989 | Josie Cichockyj | United Kingdom | 3:03:54 |
1990 | Connie Hansen | Denmark | 2:10:25 |
1991 | Connie Hansen | Denmark | 2:04:40 |
1992 | Tanni Grey | United Kingdom | 2:17:23 |
1993 | Rose Hill | United Kingdom | 2:03:05 |
1994 | Tanni Grey | United Kingdom | 2:08:26 |
1995 | Rose Hill | United Kingdom | 2:17:02 |
1996 | Tanni Grey | United Kingdom | 2:00:10 |
1997 | Monica Wetterstrom | Sweden | 1:49:09 |
1998 | Tanni Grey | United Kingdom | 2:02:01 |
1999 | Monica Wetterstrom | Sweden | 1:57:38 |
2000 | Sarah Piercy | United Kingdom | 2:23:30 |
2001 | Tanni Grey-Thompson | United Kingdom | 2:13:55 |
2002 | Tanni Grey-Thompson | United Kingdom | 2:22:51 |
2003 | Francesca Porcellato | Italy | 2:04:21 |
2004 | Francesca Porcellato | Italy | 2:04:58 |
2005 | Francesca Porcellato | Italy | 1:57:00 |
2006 | Francesca Porcellato | Italy | 1:59:57 |
2007 | Shelly Woods | United Kingdom | 1:50:40 |
2008 | Sandra Graf | Switzerland | 1:48:04 |
2009 | Amanda McGrory | United States | 1:50:39 |
2010 | Wakako Tsuchida | Japan | 1:52:33 |
2011 | Amanda McGrory | United States | 1:46:31 |
2012 | Shelly Woods | United Kingdom | 1:49:10 |
2013 | Tatyana McFadden | United States | 1:46:02 |
2014 | Tatyana McFadden | United States | 1:45:12 |
2015 | Tatyana McFadden | United States | 1:41:14 |
2016 | Tatyana McFadden | United States | 1:44:14 |
2017 | Manuela Schär | Switzerland | 1:39:57 |
2018 | Madison de Rozario | Australia | 1:42:58 |
2019 | Manuela Schar | Switzerland | 1:44:09 |