2025 London Marathon: Sabastian Sawe gets biggest win of his career, Tigst Assefa breaks women's-only world record
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya secured the biggest victory of his career by winning the London Marathon. On the women's side, Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa delivered a historic performance, breaking the women-only marathon world record with an impressive run. Men's race highlights
Sawe took full advantage of a key moment during the race. When the lead group slowed at a water station, he took his chance and surged ahead, choosing not to stop for a drink even in the heat.
His bold decision paid off as he steadily widened the gap between other runners, holding a strong finish with a final time of 2:02:27.
Sawe's decision was seen as tactical, for it maintained his lead through the final stretch of the race to claim the biggest win of his career on one of the sport's biggest stages.
Furthermore, Jacob Kiplimo, who was making his full marathon debut, showed strong potential by being the only athlete who tried to go after Sawe once he broke away.
Despite his effort, the Ugandan athlete couldn't close the gap and finished second. It was an exciting debut for the half-marathon world record holder, as he proved he could compete with the best runners over the full distance.
In a social media post, netizens showed their support and said: 'The consistency and strategy were impeccable! Congratulations @sabastiansawe ! 🏆💪🏾 🔥', 'Congrats, what a race!!', 'Incredible congratulations 🙌', and 'Congratulations.. what an incredible run. Loved being there today & see you fly past ! 🥰' Women's race highlights
In the women's race, Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa secured her first London Marathon title with a strong performance. She pulled away from former champion Joyciline Jepkosgei in the later stages of the race, showing her resilience, strength, and confidence.
Assefa finished the race with a final time of 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 50 seconds. This is the fastest time ever recorded in a women-only marathon to date. However, it was 25 seconds slower than Paula Radcliffe's 2003 course record, which was set in a mixed-gender race.
Furthermore, Assefa finally claimed the London title after finishing second in both London and the Paris Olympics last year. She made sure the race wouldn't come down to a sprint finish as she broke away from Jepkosgei with just a few kilometres to go, running solo along the River Thames and through central London, crossing the finish line in front of Buckingham Palace.
This win added to two Berlin Marathon victories that solidified her place in the sport.
Jepkosgei, who won the London Marathon in 2021, finished nearly three minutes behind Assefa in second place, while Olympic champion Sifan Hassan was third. Moreover, Eilish McColgan, the 2022 Commonwealth Games 10,000m gold medallist, made her long-awaited marathon debut and finished eighth.
A social media post made by World Athletics stated: 'One to remember 👏'
Netizens commented on the post and said: 'Congrats, Tigist 👏👏👏', and 'Incredible to watch!! ✨'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Ingebrigtsen postpones track return due to injury
Norwegian Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen has delayed his return to the track following an Achilles injury, and will not compete at the Ostrava Golden Spike meet, event organisers said on Thursday. Ingebrigtsen has been forced out of the meet in the Czech Republic on June 24 and will miss the Oslo Bislett Games on June 12, where the 24-year-old has won the 1,500 metres in the last two years. "I recently suffered a minor injury and haven't been able to train properly in recent weeks," Ingebrigtsen said in a statement on the race event website. "My condition is improving, but I need to postpone my return to racing and will be back on the track later this year." Ingebrigtsen, twice Olympic champion, has been a key figure in a trial involving his father, Gjert Ingebrigtsen, after Norwegian police pressed charges last year accusing him of abusing two of his seven children, including Jakob. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Anti-doping bodies condemn ‘dangerous' drug-fueled Enhanced Games
The Enhanced Games team attend a press conference to announce the event scheduled for May 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS LOS ANGELES – Anti-doping bodies on May 22 condemned plans for the first edition of the Enhanced Games in Las Vegas, an Olympics-style event where athletes will be free to use performance-enhancing drugs. The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and bodies across the world have taken aim at the event after organisers revealed the date, venue and format for the competition. The Enhanced Games will be staged in Las Vegas in May 2026, with athletes participating in three sports – athletics, swimming and weightlifting. Athletes will be allowed to use drugs which are banned across international sport such as steroids and human-growth hormones, with winners of each event receiving US$250,000 (S$322,000), and a bonus of US$1 million for anyone who breaks a world record. Aron D'Souza, the Australian entrepreneur who is the founder of the event, says the Games are an exercise in testing the boundaries of human performance. 'The Enhanced Games is renovating the Olympic model for the 21st century,' he said on May 21 as details of the Games were revealed. 'We are here to move humanity forward. The old rules didn't just hold back athletes, they held back humanity. 'We are not just organising competition, we are in the business of unlocking human potential. We are the vanguard of super-humanity.' The Games will take place from May 21-24 at the Resorts World hotel in Las Vegas. Swimming will hold 100m and 50m freestyle events, along with 100m and 50m butterfly. Athletics events include the 100m and 100m and 110m hurdles. Weightlifters will compete in the snatch and clean & jerk disciplines. Wada, the global anti-doping watchdog, condemned plans for the event as 'dangerous', voicing concern it could lead athletes around the world to dabble in illicit substances with potentially deadly consequences. 'Wada condemns the Enhanced Games as a dangerous and irresponsible concept,' the agency said in a statement. 'The health and well-being of athletes is Wada's No. 1 priority. Clearly this event would jeopardise that as it seeks to promote the use of powerful substances and methods by athletes for the purposes of entertainment and marketing. 'There have been many examples of athletes suffering serious long-term side-effects from their use of prohibited substances and methods. Some have died.' Travis Tygart, the head of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada), said the event was a 'dangerous clown show that puts profit over principle'. Australia's anti-doping body, Sport Integrity Australia (SIA), also condemned the risks posed to athletes participating in the Enhanced Games. 'We work to ensure that sport is safe and fair to all,' SIA chief executive Sarah Benson said in a statement. 'The Enhanced Games is promoting the complete opposite and poses a significant risk to athlete health and safety.' D'Souza, however, has pushed back on those criticisms, insisting that the competition would be conducted 'safely'. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Enhanced Games to launch in 2026, bucking global anti-doping norms
The Enhanced Games team attends a press conference on May 21 to announce that it is scheduled for May 21 to 24 in Las Vegas, Nevada. PHOTO: REUTERS – The Enhanced Games have set their inaugural competition for May 2026 in Las Vegas, with swimming, athletics and weightlifting on the agenda for athletes using substances banned in official competition to the consternation of anti-doping bodies. Basking in Las Vegas' neon glow at the launch, founder Aron D'Souza on May 21 urged athletes to take a gamble on the novel competition that he believes can transform sports science, but critics deride as a freak show. Organisers touted what they believe to be their biggest success story so far: Kristian Gkolomeev, a Greek swimmer who never made the podium in four Olympics but surpassed one of his sport's great achievements under the Enhanced Games programme. Gkolomeev swam two hundredths of a second faster than the 50m freestyle official world record that has stood for more than 15 years, clocking 20.89 in February with an inline full-body open water suit that falls outside World Aquatics standards. 'I'm kind of like the driver in the car, but I need the team behind me,' Gkolomeev, who finished fifth in the event at the Paris Games, said ahead of the Las Vegas event. Enhanced Games have held the 31-year-old up as an example of what can be possible under their regime, while declining to disclose which 'performance enhancements' he used, citing medical confidentiality. 'He should be retired but, in fact, he's swimming faster than any human being has ever done so. Why? Because he used technology and science to enhance his performance,' said D'Souza. 'Once the world realises that, I think everyone is going to want it. Every middle-aged guy who once played competitive sport and is now suffering from back pain is going to say, 'What is he on and how do I get it?'' The Enhanced Games operate under the principle that banning performance-enhancing drugs in major competition does not protect athletes but rather stifles their performance. 'Our project is a lot like Formula One because the research that happens to make Formula One cars drive faster eventually percolates out onto the road,' the Australian entrepreneur told Reuters. 'And in the same way, the science and medicine that is used to make athletes achieve world record performances at increasingly older ages will allow all humans, all of our society to age more healthily and gracefully.' Participants could earn prize money totalling up to US$500,000 (S$645,800) per event, plus bonuses for surpassing a world-record mark. For swimming, the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 100m butterfly are on the agenda. Athletics has the 100m sprint along with the 110m and 100m hurdles, while weightlifting will feature the snatch, and clean and jerk. The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) staunchly opposes the project, warning athletes that they risk bans and their health. The International Federation of Sports Medicine said the project could lead to exploitation of young athletes. 'Thinking that because you do medical checks on the spot is going to give you a good idea of the health risks of abuse of doping substances, again, is medical and scientific nonsense,' said Wada science director Olivier Rabin. 'It's like the Roman circus, you know, you sacrifice the lives of people purely for entertainment. What's the value of this? I don't think any responsible society should move in that direction.' D'Souza argues that doping in professional and amateur sport is rampant despite efforts to eliminate the use of banned substances, leading to it being done secretly and unsafely. 'Instead, at Enhanced Games, we're reversing that, making it a fair, level, transparent field so that innovation can be illustrated in a very public way to support technological progress,' he said. D'Souza announced in 2024 that he had attracted big-name investors in Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel, tech investor Christian Angermayer and former Coinbase Chief Technology Officer Balaji Srinivasan. That year he also signed the first Enhanced Games athlete, retired Australian world champion swimmer James Magnussen, who agreed to take banned performance-enhancing drugs in an attempt to surpass Cesar Cielo's 50m freestyle record. Andriy Govorov, the Ukrainian 50m butterfly world record holder and world bronze medallist, and 21-year-old Bulgarian swimmer Josif Miladinov, a European silver medallist, joined the Enhanced Games program in April. Magnussen, who had retired from competition in 2019, told reporters that training with Enhanced Games reignited his passion for the sport and that the response from his fellow athletes had been 'overwhelmingly positive'. "I was waking up each day with an enthusiasm to train, to compete. I felt so healthy, so motivated," he said. "It's honestly the happiest I've been in seven years," he said. "As athletes we have a greater risk appetite than the general population and see an event like the Enhanced Games as an opportunity." The Enhanced Games are set for Las Vegas from May 21 to 24. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
