Latest news with #JacobKiplimo
TimesLIVE
27-04-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Ethiopian Assefa shatters women's marathon record in London win
Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa shattered the women's-only world record in winning the 45th London Marathon on Sunday, while Kenyan Sebastian Sawe made a brilliant tactical decision to demolish a stacked men's field en route to victory. The 28-year-old Assefa, silver medallist in the event at last year's Paris Olympics, pulled away from Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya over the final few kilometres after the two had set a blistering early pace. She crossed the finish line in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds, beating the previous women's-only record of 2:16:16 set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir. 🇪🇹 Tigist Assefa wins the London Marathon in a time of 2:15:50, a new women's only record 🙌 #LondonMarathon — SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) April 27, 2025 Jepkosgei, 31, finished second in 2:18:44. The sizzling early pace was too much for reigning Olympic marathon champion and 2024 London winner Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who fell back off the leaders around the halfway mark en route to finishing third in 2:19:00. The 29-year-old Sawe, who made a stunning marathon debut in winning in Valencia in December, pulled away from the lead pack when the others reached for bottles to refuel with about 10km to go, on his way to crossing in 2:02:27. 🇰🇪 Sabastian Sawe beat a stacked field with Jacob Kiplimo and Tamirat Tola to win his debut #LondonMarathon ⚡️ — SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) April 27, 2025 Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda, who shattered the world half-marathon record in February, was second in his marathon debut in 2:03:37, while last year's winner Alexander Mutiso Munyao took bronze in 2:04:20. It was a Swiss double in the wheelchair events, with Marcel Hug racing to his sixth London marathon title in 1:25:25 and Catherine Debrunner winning her third women's title in four years in 1:34:18, missing her own world record by two seconds. A world record 56,000 runners were expected to participate in the 42.195km race that started at Greenwich Park, snaked along the River Thames before finishing on The Mall.
The Independent
26-04-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
London Marathon 2025 prediction: Kiplimo and Hassan to make history in the capital
Jacob Kiplimo to win the men's race - 2/1 Bet365 Sifan Hassan to win women's race - 4/7 Bet365 The 2025 London Marathon takes place this weekend as over 56,000 runners take to the streets of the capital to tackle the 26.2-mile course. Thousands of novice runners will be participating alongside some of the finest long-distance athletes on the planet as PBs are broken, records are targeted and millions are raised for charity on what is often one of the most feel-good days of the sporting calendar. As always, there are plenty of intriguing storylines among the pro runners for this year's event, with chief executive Hugh Brasher labelling the 2025 edition as the greatest elite field in history. All four Olympic and Paralympic champions will be competing in 2025, along with British Olympic triathlon gold medalist Alex Yee, 2024 London champion Alexander Mutiso Munyao, former men's and women's world record holders Eliud Kipchoge and Tigist Assefa, and Jacob Kiplimo, the men's half marathon world record holder who is making his debut over 26.2 miles. And it's the latter who heads in the weekend as the early 2/1 favourite for the men's race on betting sites. As for the women's race, it's Olympic gold medallist Sifan Hassan, who enters as the 4/7 favourite to sweep Paris and London. The 24-year-old Jacob Kiplimo will have plenty of eyes on him this weekend as he makes his full marathon debut, with the Ugandan aiming for a win in his first ever race over 26.2 miles. And there's plenty of expectation on Kiplimo's young shoulders too after he shattered the half-marathon world record in Barcelona in February with a time of 56 minutes and 42 seconds – 48s faster than the previous record. While there will be some wondering if Kiplimo could be the one to break the sub-two-hour-marathon mark, it would be an equally as impressive achievement to win the race on his debut. He will face stiff competition from Paris Olympics champion Tamirat Tola and last year's London victor Alexander Mutiso, who won in a time of 2:04:01. Nevertheless, Kiplimo may well justify the hype and win London at the first attempt. Bet365 London Marathon tips: Hassan chasing Paris and London double There's a fascinating field assembled for this year's women race, even with world record holder Ruth Chepngetich (2:09:56,) and 2024 women's winner Peres Jepchirchir having withdrawn. In fact, there are still two of the fastest women in history competing in 2025, with Sifan Hassan and Tigst Assefa likely to face off for gold in the capital – just as they did at Paris 2024. Back in July, Hassan won gold for the Netherlands with a time of 2:22:55, just three seconds better than Assefa, who took home silver for Ethiopia in a time of 2:22:58. First place is likely to be contested by the pair again, with Hassan offered at odds of 4/7 on betting apps, compared with Assefa's 2/1. Responsible Gambling When having a bet, it's vital to practice responsible gambling. When using gambling sites, be aware that sports betting can be addictive. Please take steps to remain in control of your time and budget. The same applies whether you're using new betting sites, slot sites, casino sites, casino apps, or any other gambling medium. Even the most knowledgeable punter can lose a bet, so always stick to a budget and never chase your losses. It's particularly important not to get carried away by any free bets or casino offers you might receive, both of which are available in abundance on gambling sites, but must be approached with caution. You can stay in control by making use of the responsible gambling tools offered, such as deposit limits, loss limits, self-exclusion and time-outs. You may also want to visit the following free organisations to discuss any issues with gambling you might be having:
Daily Mirror
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Eliud Kipchoge headlines London Marathon's greatest field but Jacob Kiplimo is tip to win
Marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge is aiming to compete for the win in London tomorrow but stacked field including new half marathon record holder Jacob Kiplimo should be too hot for veteran to handle Eliud Kipchoge insists he can win a fifth TCS London Marathon. But with a men's field that organisers have billed as the strongest ever assembled, chances are the Kenyan great will find himself passing the torch. Veteran Kipchoge, 40, has already been presented with a lifetime achievement award before a race that many insiders reckon is the start of a farewell tour. The former world record holder has not raced since stepping off last summer's Olympic marathon course and his last win in London was 2018. Yet he insists that he feels more motivated than ever, adding: "Last year was a tough year, but sport is built by challenges, by dedication. 'My preparation feels good and looks good – I will try to beat everyone.' That everyone includes Jacob Kiplimo, the most highly-anticipated debutant in recent memory, Olympic champion Tamirat Tola, last year's winner Alex Mutiso and 2024's fastest marathoner Sabastian Sawe. Kiplimo destroyed the half marathon world record by almost a minute in February. How that translates over the full distance will not become apparent until late tomorrow morning and the Ugandan is not getting carried away – even if expectations are dialed up to 11. 'It will present a lot of challenges because the half marathon is not like the full marathon,' Kiplimo said. 'But I have prepared myself well. I just want to run my own race.' Sawe clocked an astounding 2:02:05 to win his debut at Valencia five months ago and Tola, who thrives on hillier courses, pulled out in the latter stages of this race last year before storming to Olympic gold. That is before factoring in the potential of Mutiso defending a title he won in 2:04.01 12 months ago. 'It will be epic running with the strongest field ever,' he said. British interest is headlined by Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee, who says he is fulfilling 'a lifelong dream' this weekend. 'The start line is 2.5K from where I was born and grew up and that is really special,' he said. 'I'm going to use the emotions in as effective a way as possible to get me to the finish.' And he will be joined by Olympians Mahamed Mahamed and Phil Sesemann, both of whom are shooting for personal bests. Sesemann recently became a father so has chosen to do all his training from home rather than at altitude in Kenya. 'It is a little bit more similar to my first marathon build, no training camps, no altitude, just been in Leeds running up and down the canal,' he said. Yet the absence of Sesemann's close pal Emile Cairess, widely tipped to eventually beat Mo Farah's British record, is a blow. Cairess, fourth in the Olympics and third here last year, withdrew several weeks ago because of injury but is aiming for September's World Championships and has recently been training with Jakob Ingebrigtsen at altitude in Spain.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Will Jacob Kiplimo be the first to run a marathon in less than two hours?
Earlier this year Jacob Kiplimo produced a performance so staggering that it sent the jaws of even seasoned track and field watchers crashing to the floor. It came on the streets of Barcelona, where the 24-year-old Ugandan covered 13.1 miles in 56min 42sec – a half marathon time 48sec quicker than anyone else in history. Little more than two months later, Kiplimo is in London for his full marathon debut and the noise has only grown louder. Could he break the world record on Sunday? Could he even become the first man to break two hours in an official race? It is speculation that the event director, Hugh Brasher, is more than happy to stoke. Advertisement 'I think it's going to be the most fascinating debut ever,' he says. 'Is it feasible that he could take Kelvin Kiptum's record as the fastest debutant? Without a doubt. Do I think he could one day be the athlete that runs under two hours? Yes. But let's see what happens on Sunday.' Related: 'It's a step towards hope': a refugee's journey from wartorn Eritrea to the London Marathon Kiplimo was regarded as a superstar in waiting even before he competed over 5,000m as a 15-year-old prodigy at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He had a humble upbringing on a farm in Kween, 1500m above sea level on the Mount Elgon volcano. But because his father had three wives, he had many older half-brothers to run with – including Robert Chermonges and Victor Kiplangat, both of whom have gone on to be sub 2hr 10min marathoners – and soon proved to be something special. 'We were helping our brothers, the big brothers,' he recalls. 'They were running and we kept seeing them when they were training. And one day, I tell them, I want to become like you. So I just kept training, training. This was when I was around 10 or 11.' Advertisement A few years later Kiplimo was spotted and brought to Italy to train for the 2016 Olympics. 'Afterwards my coach, Giuseppe Giambrone, said to me 'you will be one of the greatest runners in the world,'' says Kiplimo. 'It ended in the semi-finals. But it was a huge experience for me to be at the Olympics.' Kiplimo's staggering performances as a 15-year-old included running the 5,000m in 13:19.54 and the 10,000m in 27:26.28 – all in the era before supershoes. But despite going on to win two senior world cross country titles as well as Olympic and world 10,000m bronze medals, his lack of a devastating sprint finish ended up hurting him on the track. On the roads it has so far been a different story. But on Sunday he faces the moment of truth against one of the greatest London Marathon fields ever assembled. It includes Eliud Kipchoge, the greatest of all time. The Olympic champion, Tamirat Tola. Last year's winner, Alexander Mutiso. And the well-fancied Sabastian Sawe, a late bloomer at 30 who ran 2:02:05 to win the Valencia marathon in December, the second-fastest debut in history. British eyes, meanwhile, will also be focused on Olympic triathlon gold medallist Alex Yee, who hopes to run around 2:09 in his debut over 26.2 miles. 'I am ready to compete,' says Kiplimo, who reveals that he feels much stronger having gone from running around 75-90 miles a week during his track career to more like 125-135 for the marathon. Advertisement The leading pack is likely to go through halfway in 61min, giving scope for Kiplimo to run a negative split and chase down Kiptum's world record of 2:00:35. A following wind for the second half of the race will help, although the forecast may be a little warm. When asked whether he could one day break two hours for the marathon, Kiplimo is cautious – at least for now. 'Yes, of course,' he says. 'Maybe in the future. But I'm just focusing on my debut. If this one goes well, then maybe I will be the guy to make it.' Inevitably, Kiplimo's record-breaking times have aroused some suspicion – especially given the number of east Africans who have been caught doping over the past decade. In online forums, it is also noted that his agents, Rosa and Associati, have had previous clients test positive for EPO – including the 2016 Olympic marathon champion, Jemima Sumgong, and Rita Jeptoo, who won in Boston twice. Those cases led to Frederico Rosa being investigated by the Kenyan government in 2016, before all charges were dropped. Afterwards, Rosa's lawyer insisted that the government did 'not have an iota of evidence against my client,' and Kiplimo promises that he and his team can be trusted. Advertisement 'Rosa is a good company,' he says. 'We always use supplements that are recognised. For me, I can't say nothing about doping, but I train myself. And I believe in my training. They give us a lot of advice. They tell us, in case of anything, you have to write everything down that you are taking. Some athletes want shortcuts. But for us we keep following the programme.' 'Can we trust you and believe in you?' he is asked. 'Yes, of course,' comes the reply. 'A man that has run 56.42 for a half marathon?' 'Yes, of course.' Kiplimo's answers were as emphatic as he hopes his performance will be on Sunday. He is particularly excited to face Kipchoge, who he helped pace to a sub two-hour marathon in Vienna in 2019, albeit in a race which didn't qualify for a world record under World Athletics' rules. 'I remember 2019, when I was pacing Kipchoge,' he says. 'So for me it is a little bit amazing to compete with one of the greatest runners in history.' And, he hopes, to make some more history of his own.
The Guardian
25-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Will Jacob Kiplimo be the first to run a marathon in less than two hours?
Earlier this year Jacob Kiplimo produced a performance so staggering that it sent the jaws of even seasoned track and field watchers crashing to the floor. It came on the streets of Barcelona, where the 24-year-old Ugandan covered 13.1 miles in 56min 42sec – a half marathon time 48sec quicker than anyone else in history. Little more than two months later, Kiplimo is in London for his full marathon debut and the noise has only grown louder. Could he break the world record on Sunday? Could he even become the first man to break two hours in an official race? It is speculation that the event director, Hugh Brasher, is more than happy to stoke. 'I think it's going to be the most fascinating debut ever,' he says. 'Is it feasible that he could take Kelvin Kiptum's record as the fastest debutant? Without a doubt. Do I think he could one day be the athlete that runs under two hours? Yes. But let's see what happens on Sunday.' Kiplimo was regarded as a superstar in waiting even before he competed over 5,000m as a 15-year-old prodigy at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He had a humble upbringing on a farm in Kween, 1500m above sea level on the Mount Elgon volcano. But because his father had three wives, he had many older half-brothers to run with – including Robert Chermonges and Victor Kiplangat, both of whom have gone on to be sub 2hr 10min marathoners – and soon proved to be something special. 'We were helping our brothers, the big brothers,' he recalls. 'They were running and we kept seeing them when they were training. And one day, I tell them, I want to become like you. So I just kept training, training. This was when I was around 10 or 11.' A few years later Kiplimo was spotted and brought to Italy to train for the 2016 Olympics. 'Afterwards my coach, Giuseppe Giambrone, said to me 'you will be one of the greatest runners in the world,'' says Kiplimo. 'It ended in the semi-finals. But it was a huge experience for me to be at the Olympics.' Kiplimo's staggering performances as a 15-year-old included running the 5,000m in 13:19.54 and the 10,000m in 27:26.28 – all in the era before supershoes. But despite going on to win two senior world cross country titles as well as Olympic and world 10,000m bronze medals, his lack of a devastating sprint finish ended up hurting him on the track. On the roads it has so far been a different story. But on Sunday he faces the moment of truth against one of the greatest London Marathon fields ever assembled. It includes Eliud Kipchoge, the greatest of all time. The Olympic champion, Tamirat Tola. Last year's winner, Alexander Mutiso. And the well-fancied Sabastian Sawe, a late bloomer at 30 who ran 2:02:05 to win the Valencia marathon in December, the second-fastest debut in history. British eyes, meanwhile, will also be focused on Olympic triathlon gold medallist Alex Yee, who hopes to run around 2:09 in his debut over 26.2 miles. 'I am ready to compete,' says Kiplimo, who reveals that he feels much stronger having gone from running around 75-90 miles a week during his track career to more like 125-135 for the marathon. The leading pack is likely to go through halfway in 61min, giving scope for Kiplimo to run a negative split and chase down Kiptum's world record of 2:00:35. A following wind for the second half of the race will help, although the forecast may be a little warm. When asked whether he could one day break two hours for the marathon, Kiplimo is cautious – at least for now. 'Yes, of course,' he says. 'Maybe in the future. But I'm just focusing on my debut. If this one goes well, then maybe I will be the guy to make it.' Inevitably, Kiplimo's record-breaking times have aroused some suspicion – especially given the number of east Africans who have been caught doping over the past decade. In online forums, it is also noted that his agents, Rosa and Associati, have had previous clients test positive for EPO – including the 2016 Olympic marathon champion, Jemima Sumgong, and Rita Jeptoo, who won in Boston twice. Those cases led to Frederico Rosa being investigated by the Kenyan government in 2016, before all charges were dropped. Afterwards, Rosa's lawyer insisted that the government did 'not have an iota of evidence against my client,' and Kiplimo promises that he and his team can be trusted. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion 'Rosa is a good company,' he says. 'We always use supplements that are recognised. For me, I can't say nothing about doping, but I train myself. And I believe in my training. They give us a lot of advice. They tell us, in case of anything, you have to write everything down that you are taking. Some athletes want shortcuts. But for us we keep following the programme.' 'Can we trust you and believe in you?' he is asked. 'Yes, of course,' comes the reply. 'A man that has run 56.42 for a half marathon?' 'Yes, of course.' Kiplimo's answers were as emphatic as he hopes his performance will be on Sunday. He is particularly excited to face Kipchoge, who he helped pace to a sub two-hour marathon in Vienna in 2019, albeit in a race which didn't qualify for a world record under World Athletics' rules. 'I remember 2019, when I was pacing Kipchoge,' he says. 'So for me it is a little bit amazing to compete with one of the greatest runners in history.' And, he hopes, to make some more history of his own.
