2025 London Marathon: Sabastian Sawe gets biggest win of his career, Tigst Assefa breaks women’s-only world record

Sabastian Sawe of Kenya secured the biggest victory of his career by winning the London Marathon. On the women’s side, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa delivered a historic performance, breaking the women-only marathon world record with an impressive run. 

Men’s race highlights

Sawe took full advantage of a key moment during the race. When the lead group slowed at a water station, he took his chance and surged ahead, choosing not to stop for a drink even in the heat. 

His bold decision paid off as he steadily widened the gap between other runners, holding a strong finish with a final time of 2:02:27.

Sawe’s decision was seen as tactical, for it maintained his lead through the final stretch of the race to claim the biggest win of his career on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

Furthermore, Jacob Kiplimo, who was making his full marathon debut, showed strong potential by being the only athlete who tried to go after Sawe once he broke away. 

Despite his effort, the Ugandan athlete couldn’t close the gap and finished second. It was an exciting debut for the half-marathon world record holder, as he proved he could compete with the best runners over the full distance. 

In a social media post, netizens showed their support and said: “The consistency and strategy were impeccable! Congratulations @sabastiansawe ! 🏆💪🏾 🔥”, “Congrats, what a race!!”, “Incredible congratulations 🙌”, and “Congratulations.. what an incredible run. Loved being there today & see you fly past ! 🥰”

 

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Women’s race highlights 

In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa secured her first London Marathon title with a strong performance. She pulled away from former champion Joyciline Jepkosgei in the later stages of the race, showing her resilience, strength, and confidence.

Assefa finished the race with a final time of 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 50 seconds. This is the fastest time ever recorded in a women-only marathon to date. However, it was 25 seconds slower than Paula Radcliffe’s 2003 course record, which was set in a mixed-gender race.

Furthermore, Assefa finally claimed the London title after finishing second in both London and the Paris Olympics last year. She made sure the race wouldn’t come down to a sprint finish as she broke away from Jepkosgei with just a few kilometres to go, running solo along the River Thames and through central London, crossing the finish line in front of Buckingham Palace.

This win added to two Berlin Marathon victories that solidified her place in the sport. 

Jepkosgei, who won the London Marathon in 2021, finished nearly three minutes behind Assefa in second place, while Olympic champion Sifan Hassan was third. Moreover, Eilish McColgan, the 2022 Commonwealth Games 10,000m gold medallist, made her long-awaited marathon debut and finished eighth. 

A social media post made by World Athletics stated: “One to remember 👏”

 

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Netizens commented on the post and said: “Congrats, Tigist 👏👏👏”, and “Incredible to watch!! ✨”