Assefa & Sawe Win The 2025 London Marathon!

Tigst Assefa and Sebastian Sawe win the 2025 TCS London Marathon. 

Ethiopia’s Assefa won the women’s race in 2:15:50, breaking the women’s only world record. Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei finished second and the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan was third. 

Kenya’s Sawe won the men’s race in 2:02:27 ahead of Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, with a photo finish determining that Kenya’s Alexander Mutiso Munyao was just ahead of the Netherlands’ Abdi Nageeye.

Feeling inspired to run? Here’s how to enter the London Marathon.

ASSEFA RUNS A NEW WOMEN’S ONLY WORLD RECORD

In the women’s race, a pack of three – Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa, Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei and the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan – soon pulled ahead of the rest of the field on a warm, sunny day in London. 

They went through halfway in 1:06:40, well inside the women’s only world record of 2:16:16 and Paula Radcliffe’s London course record or 2:15:25. That pace proved too much for Olympic champion Hassan who dropped off the back, leaving a two woman race.

They ran side-by-side until Assefa made her move with a 5:03 in mile 24, pushing ahead to finish in 2:15:50. Her new women’s only world record must be run on a course where the women have a separate start to men, and without male pacers. 

Assefa is the Olympic silver medallist and the second-fastest woman of all time, and now becomes the women’s only world record holder with her third Marathon Major victory. Her time was the 10th fastest women’s marathon ever run, and she now has three of the 10 fastest times.

Jepkosgei was just able to hang onto second in 2:18:44, with Hassan third in 2:19:00. 

Eilish McColgan finished eighth in 2:24:25 in her marathon debut, finishing as first British woman and breaking the Scottish record. Rose Harvey (2:25:01) and Phily Bowden (2:30:28) were second and third Brits, and ninth and 11th overall. 

SUPER SAWE CONTINUES GREAT CAREER START

Sebastian Sawe has won his first Major in only his second marathon. He made his debut at the 2024 Valencia Marathon running 2:02:05 and the second-fastest debut time ever.

The men’s race had a lead pack of nine together, and they passed halfway in 1:01:30. They were still together through 30k until Sawe skipped his bottle at a water station, ran 4:18 for mile 20, and jumped into an unassailable lead to finish in 2:02:27. It’s the 10th fastest marathon ever run and the second-fastest run in London.

There was already a lot of expectation in what Sawe could achieve after his debut, and now there’s genuine excitement that he could become the first man to run a 1:59 marathon. 

Close behind Sawe was Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, the half marathon world record holder and making his marathon debut. He finished strong in second place, with a smile on his face as the clock read 2:03:37, which is a Ugandan national record. With Sawe, Kiplimo and Kenya’s John Korir running impressive times early in their career, the men’s marathon has some thrilling prospects right now. 

It took a photo finish to separate Kenya’s Alexander Mutiso Munyao and the Netherlands’ Abdi Nageeye, with Mutiso, last year’s London Marathon champion, taking third. 

The great Eliud Kipchoge finished fifth in 2:05:25, showing that he can still compete in big races. 

The first Brit was Mahammed Mahammed, who finished ninth in 2:08:50. Triathlete Alex Yee finished 14th overall in 2:11:06, and was second Brit, with Weyney Ghebresilase third Brit.

Feeling inspired to run? Here’s how to enter the London Marathon.

Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images