2015 London Marathon

35th London Marathon

Men's winner Eliud Kipchoge.
Venue London, England, United Kingdom
Date 26 April 2015 (2015-04-26)
Champions
Men Eliud Kipchoge (2:04:42) (Elite)
Joshua George (1:31:31) (Wheelchair)
Women Tigist Tufa (2:23:21) (Elite)
Tatyana McFadden (1:41:13) (Wheelchair)

The 2015 London Marathon took place on 26 April 2015. It was the 35th running of the annual mass-participation marathon race and the third World Marathon Major of the year.[1]

The men's elite race was won by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and the women's race was won by Ethiopian Tigist Tufa. The 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships marathon events were also held during the race. The men's wheelchair race was won by Joshua George from the United States and the women's wheelchair race was won by American Tatyana McFadden. McFadden set a course record for the second year running.

According to the organisers, there were more than 38,000 participants in the 2015 race, the highest number in the London Marathon's history.

Field

The 2015 men's elite field was dubbed the "clash of the champions" by race organizers due to an unusually large number of top competitors. Eight men in the field had recorded a sub-2:05 race in their career, the three fastest marathoners ever, and five of the top 10 all-time were among those competing.[2][3]

British runner Paula Radcliffe, who holds the women's marathon world record, chose to compete in the mass field instead of the elite field. Before the race, she stated that it would be her final competition.[4] Earlier in the year, she was suffering from an Achilles tendon injury which gave her limited training time before the marathon.[5]

Approximately 38,000 people took part in the race overall, many of them raising money for charity. Competitors ranged in age from 18 to 90.[6]

Celebrities taking part in the London Marathon included: Formula One driver Jenson Button and rowing Olympic gold medalist James Cracknell who were raising money for Cancer Research UK and a brain injury charity called Headway respectively,[4][7] the BBC Radio Two presenter Chris Evans, fashion designer Henry Holland, actor Oliver Proudlock and model Christy Turlington Burns.[7] Five members of the House of Commons members took part: Alun Cairns, Richard Drax, Graham Evans, Dan Jarvis and Edward Timpson as did Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney.

Among those competing in the three-mile children's course was David and Victoria Beckham's son Romeo.[4] According to the family, Romeo's run raised £6,000 for UNAIDS.[7]

Race description

Paula Radcliffe during the marathon

On race day, conditions were overcast with light rain in places. The temperature was mildly cold, decent for running.[4][7] An estimated 750,000 fans lined the streets of London to watch the race live.[7]

The men's race got off to a fast start, covering the first three miles in 14 minutes, 31 seconds. From there the pace periodically sped up and slowed down as racers considered their strategies.[3] After ten miles, it appeared that the course record of 2:04:29 was within reach. After the race passed Tower Bridge, the lead group contained ten runners. By the 19-mile mark, it was cut to six as defending champion Wilson Kipsang of Kenya pushed the pace.[2] With four miles to go, the lead group was down to four competitors, all from Kenya: Eliud Kipchoge, Stanley Biwott, Kipsang, and world record holder Dennis Kimetto.[3]

Kipsang and Kipchoge broke free of the others as they approached the 24-mile mark.[3] The two remained close until Kipchoge pulled away in the final 800 metres. Kipchoge finished in a time of 2 hours, 4 minutes, 42 seconds for his first London Marathon victory. Previously, he won the Chicago and Rotterdam Marathons in 2014. "It was a tough race," he commented. "My training paid off and it went to plan. The crowd were wonderful and lifted me for my sprint finish."[4] Kipsang finished five seconds back for second place. Kimetto placed third, more than a minute behind the leaders.[2] Biwott finished fourth to complete a top four sweep by Kenya.[4]

In the women's race, the pace was slow. Tigist Tufa of Ethiopia used a late surge to distance herself from the field, finishing in a time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, 22 seconds.[2] It was just the second time an Ethiopian woman won the London Marathon, after Derartu Tulu won the 2001 London Marathon, and ended a four-year winning streak for Kenya. It was Tufa's first major marathon win. "The weather was very difficult for me and I found it a very slow race until the end", she said. "I was unwell at the end but I am very happy that I am OK now. I've always dreamed about winning the London Marathon."[4] Two-time winner and pre-race favourite Mary Keitany of Kenya finished in second place, 18 seconds behind Tufa. Tirfi Tsegaye of Ethiopia placed third.[4] Radcliffe finished in a time a 2:36:55. She called the race very emotional and remarked "It was so loud, my ears were ringing. It was just amazing the whole way round. All the way along, there were so many people giving me encouragement."[8]

A total of 37,675 racers had completed the course by 6:10pm, eclipsing the record of 36,705 set in 2012. Guinness World Records reported that more than 30 records were broken during the race for things such as "fastest marathon dressed as Spiderman." Two competitors wed midway through the race.[7] Prince Harry presented the winners with their medals. Radcliffe received a lifetime achievement award.[4]

IPC World Marathon Championships

Elite wheelchair competitors at the start of the race: David Weir (37) 2nd, Josh Cassidy (22), Ernst van Dyk (23) 5th, Kota Hokinoue (26) 7th

Britain's David Weir was attempting to win a record seventh London Marathon title in the men's wheelchair race. After Marcel Hug withdrew from the race midway with a punctured tyre, Weir and American Josh George battled for the lead. Weir appeared to have the advantage in the final straightaway, but George nipped him at the line.[3] George finished in a time of 1:31:31, one second ahead of Weir.[3][9] Masazumi Soejima of Japan placed third.[9] It was George's first London Marathon title.[4]

American Tatyana McFadden won the women's race for the third consecutive year.[4] Her time of 1:41:13 beat her own course record set in 2014 by nearly four minutes.[3][10] It was the third time that McFadden had set a course record in London and it was her first global marathon title. The defending World Champion Manuela Schär finished almost three minutes behind in second.[11]

El Amin Chentouf, Abderrahman Ait Khamouch and Elena Pautova set world records in the men's T12, men's T46, and women's T12 categories respectively.[12]

Results table

Results[13]

Elite races

Men
Place Athlete NationalityTime
1 Eliud Kipchoge  Kenya 02:04:42
2 Wilson Kipsang  Kenya 02:04:47
3 Dennis Kimetto  Kenya 02:05:50
4 Stanley Biwott  Kenya 02:06:41
5 Tilahun Regassa  Ethiopia 02:07:16
6 Sammy Kitwara  Kenya 02:07:43
7 Javier Guerra  Spain 02:09:33
8 Ghebre Kibrom  Eritrea 02:09:36
9 Aleksey Reunkov  Russia 02:10:10
10 Serhiy Lebid  Ukraine 02:10:21
11 Emmanuel Mutai  Kenya 02:10:54
12 Michael Shelley  Australia 02:11:19
13 Scott Overall  United Kingdom 02:13:13
14 Anuradha Cooray  Sri Lanka 02:13:47
15 Koen Raymaekers  Netherlands 02:14:25
16 Hermano Ferreira  Portugal 02:15:53
17 Mathew Hynes  United Kingdom 02:16:00
18 Bekir Karayel  Turkey 02:16:06
19 Christian Kreienbuehl   Switzerland 02:17:00
20 Cesar Lizano  Costa Rica 02:21:31
21 Stijn Fincioen  Belgium 02:25:52
Women
Place Athlete NationalityTime
1 Tigist Tufa  Ethiopia 02:23:22
2 Mary Keitany  Kenya 02:23:40
3 Tirfi Tsegaye  Ethiopia 02:23:41
4 Aselefech Mergia  Ethiopia 02:23:53
5 Florence Kiplagat  Kenya 02:24:15
6 Jemima Sumgong  Kenya 02:24:23
7 Priscah Jeptoo  Kenya 02:25:01
8 Ana Dulce Félix  Portugal 02:25:15
9 Volha Mazuronak  Belarus 02:25:36
10 Rkia El Moukim  Morocco 02:26:33
11 Edna Kiplagat  Kenya 02:27:16
12 Iwona Lewandowska  Poland 02:27:47
13 Diane Nukuri  Burundi 02:27:50
14 Tatyana Arkhipova  Russia 02:28:42
15 Alessandra Aguilar  Spain 02:29:45
16 Sonia Samuels  United Kingdom 02:31:46
17 Mary Davies  New Zealand 02:34:22
18 Emma Stepto  United Kingdom 02:35:41
19 Rebecca Robinson  United Kingdom 02:36:51

Wheelchair races

Men
Place Athlete NationalityTime
1 Joshua George  United States 01:31:31
2 David Weir  United Kingdom 01:31:32
3 Masazumi Soejima  Japan 01:31:33
4 Pierre Fairbank  France 01:31:33
5 Ernst Van Dyk  South Africa 01:31:33
6 Tomasz Hamerlak  Poland 01:31:56
7 Kota Hokinoue  Japan 01:32:22
8 Jordi Madera  Spain 01:33:22
9 Heinz Frei   Switzerland 01:33:23
10 Simon Lawson  United Kingdom 01:34:21
11 Ryota Yoshida  Japan 01:35:35
12 Alhassane Balde  Germany 01:38:31
13 Tobias Loetscher   Switzerland 01:38:32
14 Laurens Molina  Costa Rica 01:38:32
15 Denis Lemeunier  France 01:38:33
16 Ebbe Blichfeldt  Denmark 01:38:34
17 Hiroki Nishida  Japan 01:41:48
18 Hiroyuki Yamamoto  Japan 01:43:29
19 Choke Yasuoka  Japan 01:43:44
20 Alexey Bychenok  Russia 01:46:06
21 John Smith  United Kingdom 01:46:17
22 Cornel Villiger   Switzerland 01:46:18
23 Justin Levene  United Kingdom 01:46:20
24 Patrick Monahan  Ireland 01:46:47
25 Alexandrino Silva  Portugal 01:47:07
26 Aaron Pike  United States 01:50:47
27 Mark Telford  United Kingdom 01:50:49
28 Kozo Kubo  Japan 01:50:58
29 Rafael Botello Jimenez  Spain 01:54:23
30 Anthony Gotts  United Kingdom 01:54:59
Women
Place Athlete NationalityTime
1 Tatyana McFadden  United States 01:41:14
2 Manuela Schaer   Switzerland 01:43:56
3 Amanda McGrory  United States 01:46:25
4 Sandra Graf   Switzerland 01:46:27
5 Susannah Scaroni  United States 01:47:06
6 Christie Dawes  Australia 01:56:20
7 Wakako Tsuchida  Japan 01:56:48
8 Chelsea Mcclammer  United States 02:02:31
9 Sarah Piercy  United Kingdom 02:20:45
10 Martyna Snopek  United Kingdom 02:26:40

References

  1. "London Marathon: Paula Radcliffe 'unprepared but healthy'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Justin Palmer, ed. (26 April 2015). "Kipchoge wins fierce London battle with Kipsan". Reuters. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "London Marathon 2015: Eliud Kipchoge takes men's race by surprise". The Guardian. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Eliud Kipchoge, Tigist Tufa win London Marathon". ESPN. AP. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  5. Ingle, Sean (25 April 2015). "Paula Radcliffe eyes only a personal victory in final London Marathon". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  6. "London Marathon: Thousands take part in biggest race". BBC News. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gareth Vipers (26 April 2015). "London Marathon 2015: 38,000 runners make this year's event the biggest ever as three quarters of a million spectators turn out in support". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  8. "Paula Radcliffe: Running London Marathon again was 'amazing'". BBC News. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  9. 1 2 "American Joshua George wins men's wheelchair race". ITV News. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  10. "Tatyana McFadden wins women's wheelchair marathon". ITV News. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  11. "US racers Josh George, Tatyana McFadden and Raymond Martin claim marathon world titles in London". IPC Athletics. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  12. "Three world records set at marathon World Championships". IPC Athletics. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  13. "Virgin Money London Marathon Tracking & Results 2015 Leaderboard". Retrieved 27 April 2015.

External links

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