London Marathon Setback for Kenya as Title Favourite Withdraws

Kenya's quest for London Marathon glory has received a setback after one of its title favourites pulled out.

‎World champion Peres Jepchirchir has withdrawn from the race, set to take place on April 26, citing lack of enough preparations, owing to a stress fracture sustained at the Valencia Marathon last December.

‎"I was only able to resume training in late January," Jepchirchir, who won the 2024 London Marathon in a women's only world-record time of 2:16:16, said in a statement as per the BBC.

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‎"I know that to be competitive at the London Marathon you have to be at your top level and despite my best efforts, I'm just short of that due to my lack of training."

‎It is the second year in a row that Jepchirchir is pulling out of the London Marathon, having also withdrawn from the 2025 edition due to an injury.

Her withdrawal is a significant setback for Kenya given her experience and it leaves Joyciline Jepkosgei and Hellen Obiri as the country's main hopes for victory.

‎With Olympics champion Sifan Hassan also out due to an Achilles problem, defending champion and women-only world record holder Tigist Assefa, remains the biggest threat for 2021 London Marathon champion Jepkosgei and double New York and Boston Marathon winner Obiri, who will be making her London debut in the English capital.

‎Assefa has been a dominant force since her major marathon debut in 2022. In a remarkable run of form, she has secured two victories in Berlin, where she set a then-world record of 2:11:53 in 2023, and a London title, where she established the current women-only world record of 2:15:50. Across six major marathons, she has never finished lower than second place.

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