Kenyan duo of Peres Jepchirchir, Brigid Kosgei and Ethiopia's Tigist Assefa headline a star-studded field for the London Marathon on April 21.
The trio will seek to improve the women’s world record of 2:17:01 held by Mary Keitany from the 2017 London Marathon.
Jepchirchir is the Olympic champion while Assefa dethroned Kosgei as the world record holder in the mixed version.
Assefa ran 2:11:53 at last September’s Berlin Marathon, obliterating the previous best mark of 2:14:04 set by Kosgei in 2019.
The 2019 world marathon champion Ruth Chepngetich, the fourth-fastest woman of all time (2:14:18), is also in the mix alongside Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw, the 2022 London Marathon champion.
Pacemakers have been tasked to keep the top guns in the hunt for the world record.
Hugh Brasher, Event Director of the TCS London Marathon, said: “We are in a golden age of women’s marathon running. When Paula Radcliffe ran her incredible world record of 2:15:25 at the 2003 London Marathon, we had to wait 16 years for Brigid Kosgei to beat it."
"But since then, a further four women have run faster than Paula’s time including Tigst Assefa, who lowered the world record even further with her stunning run in Berlin last year.
"Despite this, the women ’s-only world record of 2:17:01, set by the great Mary Keitany here at the London Marathon in 2017, has amazingly stayed intact.
“However, I suspect that with Assefa, Kosgei and the likes of Ruth Chepngetich, Peres Jepchirchir and Yalemzerf Yehualaw in the field and where a total of ten women have run under 2 hours 17 minutes and 30 seconds, Keitany’s world record is going to be under serious threat.”
The elite men’s race is headlined by New York City Marathon champion Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia, the seventh-fastest man in history Mosinet Geremew (2:02:55) and Alexander Mutiso, who was runner-up at the 2023 Valencia Marathon in a time of 2:03:11.
Also confirmed is the 2023 runner-up Geoffrey Kamworor and multiple world champion on the track – and the third-fastest marathoner in history — Kenenisa Bekele — who set a new world record in the masters category at the 2023 Valencia Marathon.
He ran 2:04:19 aged 41.
