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Eliud Kipchoge to line up at 2025 London Marathon

The most decorated men's marathoner in history will head back to London, looking for his fifth victory there

Kipchoge in London Photo by: Kevin Morris

The most decorated men’s marathoner in history will return to the distance this April in London. On Friday, Eliud Kipchoge announced he will race the historic 45th edition of the TCS London Marathon on Sunday, April 27. This will be Kipchoge’s first marathon after his DNF at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The 40-year-old Kenyan will chase a historic fifth London Marathon victory, a feat no runner has ever accomplished. He won London four times in his career during an unbeaten stretch in the British capital from 2015 to 2019 (he didn’t compete in the 2017 race). His last appearance was in the elite-only London Marathon during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, where an ear infection slowed his performance, and he finished eighth.

Kipchoge said in a press release he’s excited to be racing the TCS London Marathon again. “It is a race that holds a very special place in my heart, filled with so many beautiful memories, and I am eager to create even more. After a good period of rest, I have returned to training with renewed energy and focus. I feel re-fuelled to give my very best in London.” 

In the last two years, Kipchoge has shown himself to be human, missing the podium at three of his last four races. The only race he won was the 2023 Berlin Marathon, an event he’s won five times and at which he has set two men’s marathon world records. He held the men’s marathon world record from 2018 to 2023, until his compatriot, Kelvin Kiptum, became the first man to run under 2:01, at the 2023 Chicago Marathon. Kiptum died in a car accident five months after setting the record.

Eliud Kipchoge and Prince Harry
Kipchoge at the 2019 London Marathon. Photo: Kevin Morris

Kipchoge will face a star-studded men’s marathon field in London, including the man who denied him a third Olympic title at the Paris 2024 Olympics–Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola. He will also have to face the reigning London Marathon champion (and his Olympic teammate) Alexander Munyao, who won last year, in 2:03:11. The current world half-marathon record holder and two-time world XC champion, Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda, will also be a threat to win, in his marathon debut.

Pundits believe Kiplimo is the next big thing in men’s marathoning and has the potential to be the first man to run under the two-hour mark.

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