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The 46th edition of the London Marathon takes place on Sunday (26 April), the third stop of the 2026 World Marathon Majors series.
Last year’s race in the English capital set a new world record for the largest number of marathon finishers, with 56,640 people completing the 26.2-mile route.
And the 2026 London Marathon promises to be even bigger, with more than 59,000 runners expected at the start line.
In the men’s and women’s elite races, Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe and Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia are back to try to retain their titles.
While Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner are looking to keep their respective winning runs going in the wheelchair races.
Below, Olympics.com brings you a full preview of the elite fields and everything you need to know about the 2026 London Marathon.
- 2026 Tokyo Marathon: Tadese Takele, Brigid Kosgei claim wins
- World Marathon Majors 2026: All winners, finishing times – full list
Athletes to watch at the 2026 London Marathon
Men: Sabastian Sawe, Jacob Kiplimo lead men’s field
Sawe returns to the streets of London looking to defend the title he won in 2:02:27 last year, the second-fastest time ever clocked on the course.
The Kenyan will again take on Jacob Kiplimo, the half-marathon world record holder from Uganda, who finished runner-up in 2025 on his marathon debut.
Ethiopian Deresa Geleta is the third man in the field with a personal best below 2:03:00, while his compatriot Tamirat Tola, the Olympic marathon champion, is also involved.
Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, who won 10,000m gold at Paris 2024 for his third Olympic medal, will look to make his mark, while Kenyan Amos Kipruto returns to the race he won in 2022.
Mahamed Mahamed, who finished fourth in 2024, is the fastest Brit in his home marathon following the withdrawal of Emile Cairess, who finished third in 2024 and fourth at Paris 2024.
Women: Tigst Assefa aims to retain title
Assefa is hoping for a repeat of her landmark triumph in 2025, when she broke the world record for a women-only field with a run of 2:15:50.
The Ethiopian claimed silver at Paris 2024 and last year’s World Championships in Tokyo, and has finished in the top two in her past six marathons.
Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei, the 2021 London winner and last year’s runner-up, is the second fastest woman in the field.
Olympic bronze medallist Hellen Obiri of Kenya and world bronze medallist Julia Paternain of Uruguay are also involved.
Eilish McColgan headlines the domestic contingent having broken the Scottish record of her mum Liz McColgan on her marathon debut in London last year with a run of 2:24:25, which saw her place eighth.
Rose Harvey, who finished just behind McColgan in ninth last year, is the fastest Brit in the field.
Wheelchair: Marcel Hug looks to equal record
Marcel Hug has won the last five men’s wheelchair races and has seven victories in all. If the Switzerland star triumphs for an eighth time on Sunday, he will equal British Paralympian David Weir as the most successful athlete in the history of the London Marathon.
Tomoki Suzuki and Jetze Plat, who finished second and third last year, are back to battle Hug.
In the women’s race, fellow Swiss racer Catherine Debrunner is the favourite to win her fourth London Marathon and her third in a row. She missed out on breaking her own world record by just two seconds on the London course last year.
Tatyana McFadden, who won the London Marathon four years in a row from 2013 to 2016, and Manuela Schär, the three-time champion, will look to rival Debrunner, as will Madison de Rozario, the last woman to beat her in this race in 2023.
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/london-marathon-2026-preview-full-schedule-how-to-watch-live
