The ULTIMATE London Marathon Men’s Preview: Sawe vs Kiplimo II, Kejelcha Debuts & More

There are a few ways to measure the strength of an elite marathon field, but in the metrics LetsRun.com cares about — head-to-head matchups between the biggest stars — no marathon (perhaps outside of the Olympics) can match the TCS London Marathon.

The 2026 edition, which will take place on Sunday (9:05 a.m. BST/4:05 a.m. ET), is no exception.

The men’s race features a showdown between the two fastest marathoners of 2025: defending London champion Sabastian Sawe of Kenya (2:02:05 pb) and Chicago Marathon champion Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda (2:02:23 pb), who broke the half marathon world record in the midst of his buildup for London.

The women’s race is headlined by defending champion Tigst Assefa against Valencia champion Joyciline Jepkosgei and New York champion Hellen Obiri. This will be Obiri’s first rabbitted marathon after exclusively running Boston, New York, and the Olympics in her first eight marathons.

And, as is often the case in London, there is a major debut. Former half marathon world record holder Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia, the silver medalist in the 10,000 meters at last year’s World Championships, will run his first marathon on Sunday.

There are a lot of storylines to break down ahead of the race. We take a closer look at the biggest men’s stories below. Our women’s preview will be published on Friday.

Race details
What: 2026 TCS London Marathon
When: Sunday, April 26, 2026. The professional women start at 9:05 a.m. BST/4:05 a.m. ET, with the professional men 30 minutes later at 9:35 a.m. BST/4:35 a.m. ET.
Where: London, England (course map) *Elite women’s entries *How to watch

Race-day weather forecast: The forecast looks good for fast times: partly cloudy, with temps in the low-to-mid 50s Fahrenheit and winds in the 3-8 mph wind out of the east. While London has a number of turns, the course overall runs from east to west, including the entire final 10k.

1) Sawe-Kiplimo II could be the race of the year

Last year’s London Marathon felt a bit like the first bout in a boxing film. Jacob Kiplimo, the challenger, made a good account of himself in his debut, finishing 2nd in 2:03:37, but he was not quite ready to handle the brilliance of Sabastian Sawe, who delivered the knockout by dropping a 4:16 for his 20th mile.

2025 London was an exciting race, one which confirmed Sawe as one of the premier marathon talents of his generation. But we all know that in a good boxing film, it’s the second fight — after the protagonist has gone back and worked on his weaknesses, leveling up via the help of a training montage — that really produces the drama.

I can already picture the scenes in the montage now. Kiplimo’s 2:02:23 win in Chicago in October. His third straight World Cross Country victory in January. The news that World Athletics did not ratify his 56:42 half marathon world record from last year after he drafted behind the lead vehicle in Barcelona. Kiplimo responding by breaking the world record again, running 57:20 in Lisbon in March.

Everything is pointing towards Kiplimo being more prepared for the marathon this spring than he was for his debut last year. He’s bumped his mileage, his body knows what to expect, and he’s as strong as ever.

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As for Sawe, his next marathon after London was even better — his 2:02:16 victory in Berlin was the best marathon by anyone in 2025, and he would have threatened the world record had the race not featured sunny, 70+ degree conditions.

But Sawe has endured some setbacks since then. In the leadup to Berlin, he developed a foot issue after stepping on the rail during a track session, and though he was able to get treatment and race on it, he began feeling pain once he returned to training in the fall, with an MRI revealing a stress fracture in his metatarsal.

Then in December, Sawe developed a back injury which caused him to miss around 10 days of running. His coach, Claudio Berardelli, told LetsRun.com he had to alter training for a month, and was a bit worried they might not make it to London. But things began to turn around just in time.

“All of January was a kind of return to a normal capacity of running and then from February things started to come back to normal,” Berardelli said.

Berardelli said that as a result of the injuries, they had to take some risks in training to make sure he made it to London in shape to compete with the best in the world. He noted that Sawe has had a few weeks recently at more than 200 kilometers (124 miles), maxing out at 241 km (150 miles).

Berardelli feels Sawe is in good shape, but he also stressed that Sawe is mentally more prepared than ever. It is easy to forget that Sawe only made his marathon debut in December 2024. But Berardelli feels he has the right temperament to weather the highs and lows of the event, and his knowledge of the event is only growing stronger.

“His level of awareness of what is the marathon and what maybe are his limits, his level of awareness is getting better,” Berardelli said. “Sabastian goes for his fourth marathon [on Sunday]. Not his 10th marathon.”

“…It’s not just a physical talent. It is a wider concept with Sabastian — his sensibility, his capacity to put himself in the right attitude for this job.”

As he did ahead of Berlin, Sawe is once again voluntarily subjecting himself to an enhanced out-of-competition drug testing protocol designed by the Athletics Integrity Unit. You can read more about his efforts to protect his reputation in the midst of Kenya’s doping epidemic in our feature from earlier this month:

LRC How Kenyan Star Sabastian Sawe Is Trying to Save the Marathon’s Reputation

2) Could anyone else threaten Sawe and Kiplimo?

The winner on Sunday is likely to be either Sawe or Kiplimo, but there are several other very strong runners in this race. Ethiopia’s Deresa Geleta was 5th at the Olympics, 2nd in Tokyo last year, and his 2:02:38 pb makes him the ninth-fastest man in history. Sawe’s training partner Amos Kipruto won London in 2022 and ran 2:03 in both of his marathons last year (1st in Hamburg, 2nd in Chicago behind Kiplimo). Geoffrey Kamworor was 2nd in London in 2023, won Rotterdam last year, and is coming off a 58:14 win at the RAK Half in February. Amanal Petros missed World Championship gold by .03, then ran a 2:04:03 German record in Valencia in December.

But the two guys with the best chance to challenge the big boys are a pair of Ethiopians, Tamirat Tola and Yomif Kejelcha. Tola, at his best, is as good as anyone, which he showed by setting the 2:04:58 course record in New York in 2023 and winning Olympic gold in 2024. The concern is whether he has the wheels to keep up with Sawe and Kiplimo. Tola has never run a crazy fast time (his pb is 2:03:39 from Amsterdam in 2021) and he is now 34 years old — London will be the 22nd marathon in his career. He was only 5th last year but is coming to London off a 2:05:40 win at Doha Marathon in January.

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It would be a lot to ask of Kejelcha to defeat this field in his debut, but he is one of the most prolific track racers of his generation, with sparkling personal bests across all distances — 3:47 mile, 7:23 3000, 12:38 5000, 26:31 10,000. He is also an outstanding half marathoner, with three wins at the Valencia Half — the most competitive half marathon in the world — including a then-world record of 57:30 in 2024 and a 58:02 win in October 2025.

Whether the former indoor mile world record holder’s range extends to 26.2 miles is the big question, of course. But during his track career, he has always enjoyed running fast and is often the one pushing the pace in the latter stages of races. He is a fascinating wild card to throw into the clash of the titans in London.

(Note: 12:36 5,000m man Hagos Gebrhiwet was also scheduled to debut in London but scratched this week due to injury).

3) Could the world record go down?

Sawe may have threatened Kelvin Kiptum‘s 2:00:35 world record with better conditions in Berlin, and Kiplimo was on 2:00:28 pace as late as 22 miles in Chicago before fading late. Naturally, that has led the running world to wonder whether the WR could go down on Sunday.

I don’t see it happening.

London is a fast course, but there has only ever been one men’s world record there: 2002, when Khalid Khannouchi ran 2:05:38. That race, in which Khannouchi defeated Paul Tergat (2:05:48) and Haile Gebrselassie (2:06:35), went down as one of the greatest marathons ever, but massive head-to-head showdowns like that rarely produce world records.

There is a reason why Eliud Kipchoge‘s two world records came in Berlin, not London. He raced each marathon six times in his career, but the competition was stronger in London, so he had to prioritize winning over time in that race. In Berlin, Kipchoge did not have as many athletes to worry about, so he was free to launch an all-out assault on the clock during the second half.

Sawe expressed a similar sentiment when I asked him whether he would attack the world record in London.

It has been 24 years since there has been a men’s world record in London (Gary Oakley for London Marathon Events)

“I also think with all this talent in the race it is difficult to go simply for time since everyone will be watching each other,” Sawe wrote in an email. “But that said, I believe it will take a very strong effort to win, and we will see what time comes from that.”

Berardelli said that between the weather, strong assortment of pacers (including Sawe’s training partner /Berlin Half Marathon champion Dennis Kipruto, 2:04:00 marathoner/2026 Dubai Marathon champ Nibret Melak, and Kiplimo’s brother/2022 Worlds 5,000 bronze medalist Oscar Chelimo), and quality of the field, he expects a fast time will be required to win. Kiptum’s 2023 course record of 2:01:25 is in jeopardy.

“Course record?” Berardelli said. “Yes. I would say most likely. World record (2:00:35), I don’t know.”

4) Is there any hope for Joshua Cheptegei, marathoner?

Cheptegei, the 5,000m/10,000m world record holder and double Olympic champion from Uganda, has had a rough go of it so far in the marathon.

His 37th-place, 2:08:59 debut in Valencia in 2023 can be excused given he had an abbreviated buildup and boldly went with the leaders and blew up rather than taking a more conservative approach. But since moving to the marathon full-time in 2025, Cheptegei’s results have been disappointing. He was only 9th last year in Tokyo, running 2:05:59. He improved to 2:04:52 in Amsterdam in October, but that time only placed him 5th.

He looks a long way from being able to challenge the best in the world over 26.2 miles — and now he’s taking on the strongest marathon field of the year in London. If Sunday’s race goes poorly, you have to wonder whether he would consider pivoting back to the track ahead of LA28.

5) How does US-based Brit Patrick Dever do in marathon #2?

Patrick Dever, 29, who trains with Puma Elite in North Carolina, was one of the surprises of last year’s New York City Marathon. In his debut, he hung with the leaders until mile 25 and ran 2:08:58 for 4th — subsequently upgraded to 3rd after original 3rd placer Albert Korir was banned for doping.

(Andrew Baker for London Marathon Events)

Given the tactical nature of that race and NYC’s up-and-down course, the 2021 NCAA 10,000m champion for Tulsa should be capable of running significantly faster in marathon #2. With Olympic 4th placer Emile Cairess withdrawing due to a calf injury, Dever has a great chance to finish as top Brit, with Mahamed Mahamed (2:07:05 for 4th in London in 2024) and Phil Sesemann (2:07:11 in Valencia last year) his top competition.

Talk about 2026 London on our world-famous messageboard / fan forum: Jonathan Gault has the scoop: Sebastian Sawe heads into London after getting a stress fracture + back injury at end of 2025.