Assefa breaks own women-only marathon world record at London

Tigst Assefa Breaks Women-Only World Record Again at London Marathon

Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia defended her London Marathon title on Sunday, crossing the finish line in 2:15:41 to break her own women-only world record for the second consecutive year. It marks the third straight edition of the TCS London Marathon in which the women-only world record has fallen.

A Three-Way Battle Through the Streets of London

Assefa, 29, ran shoulder-to-shoulder with Kenya’s Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei for most of the race. Led by two female pacemakers, the trio came through the halfway mark in 1:06:12 — on pace for roughly 2:12:24 — before the pace slowed over the second half. In the final mile, all three women were still in contention, but Assefa surged hard over the last 400 meters and opened her stride down the finishing straight to pull clear.runnersworld

Obiri, making her London Marathon debut after back-to-back New York City Marathon titles in 2023 and 2025, finished second in a personal best of 2:15:53. Jepkosgei, the 2021 London Marathon champion, rounded out the podium in 2:15:55.reddit

At the London Marathon, the women’s division does not use male pacemakers, which is why the record is classified as “women-only” rather than an outright world record. The current outright women’s marathon world record stands at 2:09:56, set by Ruth Chepngetich at the 2024 Chicago Marathon, though Chepngetich is currently serving a doping suspension.runnersworld

Record After Record in London

Assefa’s previous women-only mark of 2:15:50 was set at the 2025 London Marathon, which itself broke the 2:16:16 that Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir ran in the 2024 edition. The Ethiopian’s resume now includes four World Marathon Majors victories — Berlin in 2022 and 2023, and London in 2025 and 2026.yahoo

The race lost some of its anticipated star power in the weeks before the start. Olympic marathon champion Sifan Hassan and reigning world champion Jepchirchir, who had both been announced as headliners in January, withdrew due to injuries.runnersworld

Assefa’s Ambitions Realized

Assefa had signaled her intentions at the pre-race press conference, telling reporters that her training this year had “surpassed” her preparation for the 2025 triumph and that she would go out at world-record pace. Favorable conditions — temperatures in the 50s Fahrenheit with mild wind — helped deliver on that promise.londonmarathonevents

London Marathon Events chief executive Hugh Brasher had predicted the women-only record could fall for a third year running. “For the past two years, the women-only world record has been broken at the TCS London Marathon,” Brasher said ahead of the race. On Sunday, Assefa proved him right once more.marathonhandbook