Assefa sets females’s only record to win London Marathon ladies’s
LONDON (AP)– Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia took advantage of the warm weather to retreat late for her first London Marathon title on Sunday, setting a record time for a females’s-only race in the process.Assefa offseted second-place finishes in London and the Paris Olympics last year by pulling away from Joyciline Jepkosgei near the end to end up in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds. It was the fastest ever time in a ladies’s-just marathon– but 25 seconds slower than the course record set by Paula Radcliffe in 2003 when it was a combined race.Advertisement Peres Jepchirchir had actually set the previous ladies’s only record of 2:16:16 when she won in London in 2015 ahead of
Assefa. Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya set the overall females’s world record of 2:09:56 at last year’s Chicago Marathon– beating a previous mark held by Assefa.The weather condition in London was a lot warmer this year than in 2024– with temperature levels nearing 18 C(64F )by the time the elite runners were ending up– which Assefa said was to her advantage.”In 2015 I did have some issues with the cold, my hamstring tightened up toward completion of the race,”Assefa stated through an interpreter.”This year the weather condition fit
me really well.”Assefa includes this win to two previous Berlin Marathon titles.Advertisement She was beaten in a sprint at the Paris Olympics by Sifan Hassan in 2015. This time she ensured there would be no sprint surface as she left Jepkosgei behind with a couple of kilometers left and ran alone along
the Thames and through central London to the finish in front of Buckingham Palace. “I really wanted to win today. And after Paris, where I completed second once again, I truly have actually trained hard, “Assefa stated.”So this preparation has been over 8 months. And undoubtedly I’m extremely delighted it has actually settled. “Despite the fact that she lost the Olympic gold medal in a sprint, she stated her move with a couple of miles left was not prepared ahead of time.”I was actually training for all results, “she stated.”I felt I might win with a sprint, I might likewise win with a long run from home. The main thing was just to
prepare well, and that’s what I did. “Ad Jepkosgei, the 2021 London winner, was practically 3 minutes back after tiring near completion.
“It was a little bit humid,” Jepkosgei stated.”My body was not responding well. And I said, let’s preserve my energy to arrive securely at the goal.”Hassan fell behind about halfway through the race
and ended up third, 3:10 behind.Hassan took a four-month break after the Olympics and said she still isn’t back to her best type
. She also stated she had a hard time to breathe every time she took a drink throughout the first half of the race.”I believe I need some competition,”Hassan stated.” 7 months, no competition, I think my body forgot how to push.”Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the guys’s race for his greatest career
success after making a solo breakaway with about 10 kilometers left. ___ AP Sports: https://apnews.com/sports