| 39th London Marathon | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Venue | London, United Kingdom |
| Date | 28 April 2019 |
| Champions | |
| Men | Eliud Kipchoge (2:02:37) |
| Women | Brigid Kosgei (2:18:20) |
| Wheelchair men | Daniel Romanchuk (1:33:38) |
| Wheelchair women | Manuela Schär (1:44:09) |
← 2018 2020 → | |
The2019 London Marathon was the 39th running of the annualmarathon race inLondon, United Kingdom, which took place on 28 April. The elite men's race was won by KenyanEliud Kipchoge, who took his fourth London Marathon victory in a time of 2:02:37, the second fastest marathon ever at that point. The women's race was won byBrigid Kosgei, also of Kenya, in 2:18:20. AmericanDaniel Romanchuk won the men's wheelchair title in 1:33:38 while Switzerland'sManuela Schär won the women's title in 1:44:09. Changes were made to the course to make it more environmentally friendly; the number of plastic bottles used was reduced andbiodegradable alternatives were used instead.
The marathon distance is officially 42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi) long as sanctioned byWorld Athletics (IAAF).[1] TheLondon Marathon is run over a mainly flat course, starting inBlackheath.[2] The course begins at four separate points and they converge after 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) during which the course is downhill.[3] At just after 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) into the race, the runners reach the 19th-centuryclipperCutty Sark docked inGreenwich[4] and at about halfway into the race, the runners crossTower Bridge[3] before heading east intoShadwell andCanary Wharf.[2] After winding through Canary Wharf, the route returns through Shadwell on the other side of the road to which it entered before passing throughTower Hill.[3] The runners enter the underpass inBlackfriars before running along theThames Embankment, pastWestminster and ontoBirdcage Walk.[3][2] The course then runs parallel toSt James's Park before turning ontoThe Mall and finishing in front ofBuckingham Palace.[3][2]
The favourite for the men's race wasEliud Kipchoge, winner of the2015,2016, and2018 editions.[5]Abraham Kiptum was due to race but did not compete due to abiological passport violation,[6] and was later suspended in November for an anti-doping violation.[7] A much anticipated appearance was from BritonMo Farah despite being anunderdog and thebookmaker's second favourite pick.[8]Shura Kitata, runner-up in the 2018 edition, also competed.[5]
In the women's race, defending championVivian Cheruiyot and three-time London Marathon winnerMary Keitany were favourites.[9]David Weir was favourite in the men's wheelchair race, having won a total of eight editions of the race.[10] 2018 winnerMadison de Rozario raced along with five-timeNew York City Marathon winnerTatyana McFadden, andManuela Schär in the women's wheelchair race.[10]
The wheelchair race started at 9:05BST (UTC+1), the women's race at 9:25 BST, and the men's race at 10:10 BST.[11] A new competition, the Flying 400, was introduced in the wheelchair race. It consisted of a 400 metres (1,300 ft) sprint at the 20 kilometres (12 mi) mark, with the winner receiving $8,000 and second place receiving $3,800 for both the men and women's race.[11][12] In the other races, the winner received £42,000, with second and third winning £23,000 and £17,000, respectively.[11]
In the wheelchair race, Weir fell out of the leading group following the Flying 400 sprint.[13] 20-year-old AmericanDaniel Romanchuk managed to pull away from the lead group in the last kilometre to win in a time of 1:33:38.[14]Marcel Hug of Switzerland andTomoki Suzuki of Japan finished second and third respectively, while Weir finished fifth.[14] In the women's wheelchair race, Schär dropped the other competitors about 30 minutes into the race,[15] and was able to win in a time of 1:44:09.[14] Rozario and McFadden finished over five minutes later in second and third, respectively.[14]
The women's race contained fourpacemakers, and three of them left the rest of the runners behind within the first five minutes of the race.[15] The race had got off to a slow start and they went through 4.5 miles (7.2 km) at about 2:20:00 pace.[15] They passed the 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) mark at about 2:21:00 pace, four minutes slower than the women's only world record set by Keitany at the2017 edition.[16] The pace slowed even further, passing halfway in 1:11:38.[17] About 90 minutes into the race, Keitany began to drop from the lead group as KenyanBrigid Kosgei and Cheruiyot began to move away from the rest.[15] At 35 kilometres (22 mi), Kosgei had put a three-second gap between herself and Cheruiyot and just five minutes later had completely dropped her.[15] She managed to hold the lead and finished in a time of 2:18:20, with a second-half split time of 1:06:42, the fastest in women's marathon history.[17] Cheruiyot finished second in 2:20:14, 2018Dubai Marathon winnerRoza Dereje finished third in 2:20:51, whilst Keitany finished fifth.[17]
British tennis playerAndy Murray started the men's race.[18] A group of nine formed and they ran at a controlled pace, passing 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) in 29:01 and halfway in 1:01:37.[19] Once the pacemakers had dropped out, Kipchoge took lead of the group which included Shura,Mule Wasihun,Mosinet Geremew, Farah,Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich, andTamirat Tola.[15][19] Kipchoge began to increase the pace, leaving only himself, Mosinet, Mule, and Shura in the lead group by the 30 kilometres (19 mi) point. From mile 20 to 24, they ran a pace of about 4:40 per mile, enough to drop Shura and Mule.[19] However, Kipchoge soon left Mosinet behind after nearly two hours of racing and waved to the crowd as he crossed the finish line in 2:02:37.[15] Mosinet finished second in 2:02:55, Mule finished third in 2:03:16, Shura finished fourth in 2:05:01, and Farah finished fifth in 2:05:39. Kipchoge broke the previous London Marathon record by 28 seconds which he had set in2016, and also ran the second quickest marathon in history behind his2018 Berlin Marathon performance.[20][21]
About 42,000 runners took part in the non-elite race and the total raised for charities surpassed £1 billion since the race began in 1981.[22][23][24] The organisers of the race decided to reduce the number of plastic bottles being used during the race by usingbiodegradable, edible water pods made ofseaweed extract known as Ooho. They were invented by London-based Skipping Rocks Lab.[25] They also reduced the number of water stations from 26 to 19 and reduced the number of plastic bottles on the course by 215,000.[26]
| Position[27][28] | Athlete | Nationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Eliud Kipchoge |  Kenya | 2:02:37 |
 | Mosinet Geremew |  Ethiopia | 2:02:55 |
 | Mule Wasihun | Ethiopia | 2:03:16 |
| 4 | Shura Kitata | Ethiopia | 2:05:01 |
| 5 | Mo Farah |  United Kingdom | 2:05:39 |
| 6 | Tamirat Tola | Ethiopia | 2:06:57 |
| 7 | Bashir Abdi |  Belgium | 2:07:03 |
| 8 | Leul Gebresilase | Ethiopia | 2:07:15 |
| 9 | Yassine Rachik |  Italy | 2:08:05 |
| 10 | Callum Hawkins | United Kingdom | 2:08:14 |
_edited.jpg)
| Position[29][28] | Athlete | Nationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brigid Kosgei | Kenya | 2:18:20 |
| Vivian Cheruiyot | Kenya | 2:20:14 |
| Roza Dereje | Ethiopia | 2:20:51 |
| 4 | Gladys Cherono Kiprono | Kenya | 2:20:52 |
| 5 | Mary Jepkosgei Keitany | Kenya | 2:20:58 |
| 6 | Emily Sisson |  United States | 2:23:08 |
| 7 | Sinead Diver |  Australia | 2:24:11 |
| 8 | Carla Salomé Rocha |  Portugal | 2:24:47 |
| 9 | Birhane Dibaba | Ethiopia | 2:25:04 |
| 10 | Charlotte Purdue | United Kingdom | 2:25:38 |
| Position[28] | Athlete | Nationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Romanchuk | United States | 1:33:38 |
| Marcel Hug |  Switzerland | 1:33:42 |
| Tomoki Suzuki |  Japan | 1:33:51 |
| 4 | Dai Yuqiang |  China | 1:37:30 |
| 5 | David Weir | United Kingdom | 1:37:32 |
| 6 | Ernst van Dyk |  South Africa | 1:37:32 |
| 7 | Jordi Madera |  Spain | 1:37:32 |
| 8 | Hiroki Nishida | Japan | 1:37:34 |
| 9 | Aaron Pike | United States | 1:37:34 |
| 10 | Hiroyuki Yamamoto | Japan | 1:37:34 |
| Position[28] | Athlete | Nationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manuela Schär | Switzerland | 1:44:09 |
| Tatyana McFadden | United States | 1:49:42 |
| Madison de Rozario | Australia | 1:49:44 |
| 4 | Eliza Ault-Connell | Australia | 1:50:02 |
| 5 | Tsubasa Kina | Japan | 1:51:22 |
| 6 | Zou Lihong | China | 1:52:10 |
| 7 | Katrina Gerhard | United States | 1:52:11 |
| 8 | Nikita den Boer |  Netherlands | 1:52:12 |
| 9 | Arielle Rausin | United States | 1:52:12 |
| 10 | Aline Dos Santos Rocha |  Brazil | 1:52:13 |
