2020 London Marathon

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40th London Marathon
VenueLondon, England
Date4 October 2020
Champions
MenShura Kitata (02:05:41)
WomenBrigid Kosgei (02:18:58)
Wheelchair menBrent Lakatos (01:36:04)
Wheelchair womenNikita den Boer (01:40:07)
← 2019
2021 →

The 2020 London Marathon was the 40th running of the annual marathon race in London, United Kingdom, which took place on 4 October 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was postponed from 26 April and only allowed elite participants; the mass participation event was cancelled. The event used a different course from usual, consisting of multiple laps around St James's Park.

The men's elite race was won by Ethiopian Shura Kitata, and the women's event was won by Kenyan Brigid Kosgei. The men's wheelchair race was won by Canadian Brent Lakatos, and the women's event was won by Dutchwoman Nikita den Boer.

Background

View along Horse Guards Parade with trees on the left and a building on the right.
Horse Guards Parade was one of the roads used in the modified course.

The 2020 London Marathon was originally scheduled to be held on 26 April but was postponed until 4 October due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] It was the first London Marathon to be run in the autumn.[2] On 6 August, it was confirmed that the marathon would go ahead as an elite-only race, with the mass participation event cancelled. Fields of around 30–40 athletes competed for each title.[3] It was the first time that the London Marathon was solely an elite-only event.[4] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was run without spectators, in a biosecure environment. All athletes were tested for COVID-19 multiple times before the race,[5] and wore face coverings and observed social distancing when not competing.[6] All competitors and event co-ordinators wore a "bump" device which alerted them if they got too close to other people.[6]

As a result of the need for a biosecure environment, the race did not follow its traditional route. Instead, the 2020 London Marathon consisted of 19 laps of length 2.15 kilometres (1.34 mi) around St James's Park, followed by 1,345 metres (0.84 mi) along The Mall, following the finish line of the traditional London Marathon course. The circuits took in The Mall, Horse Guards Parade, Birdcage Walk and Buckingham Palace.[5] The area around St James's Park was closed to prohibit spectators from attending.[5]

The prize money for winners of the 2020 London Marathon was 50 per cent lower than in

US$30,000.[7] British competitors who achieved the Olympic qualifying standard at the 2020 London Marathon would have their time count towards the qualification criteria at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021.[3] Before both events were postponed, the London Marathon had been scheduled to be used as the British trial event to determine qualification for the 2020 Olympics.[1]

The 2021 London Marathon was postponed from April until October 2021, to maximise the chance of being able to hold a mass participation event.[3]

Competitors

Left: Shura Kitata running at the 2018 London Marathon. Right: Brigid Kosgei running at the same event.
Shura Kitata won the men's race, and Brigid Kosgei won the women's race.

The women's race included 2019 winner and current marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei, 2018 winner Vivian Cheruiyot, as well as Ruth Chepng'etich, Roza Dereje, and Valary Jemeli Aiyabei, all of whom had personal best times under 2:20.[8] Ethiopian Degitu Azimeraw was scheduled to race, but withdrew after testing positive for COVID-19.[9]

The favourites for the men's race were 2019 winner Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele, who won the 2019 Berlin Marathon in 2:01:41, two seconds away from Kipchoge's world record.[10] The men's race also featured Mosinet Geremew, Mule Wasihun,[8] Sisay Lemma, and Tamirat Tola, all of whom had personal best times under 2:05.[4] Sondre Nordstad Moen, who broke the European one hour run record earlier in 2020,[a] also competed.[4] Briton Mo Farah, who in September 2020 set the men's world record for the one hour run,[12] acted as a pacemaker for the men's race.[8] Two days before the race, Kenenisa Bekele withdrew from the London Marathon with a calf injury.[13] American Galen Rupp, who won his country's Olympic qualifying event in February 2020, did not compete, after undergoing surgery for an existing injury.[14]

The men's wheelchair race featured 10 competitors.[15] 2019 winner Daniel Romanchuk was scheduled to race,[5] but later decided not to attend the event.[16] The race featured Marcel Hug, who won the London Marathon in 2014 and 2016,[17] and was the only man to have beaten Romanchuk in a marathon since March 2019.[18] Other competitors included British eight-time winner David Weir,[16] 2010 winner Josh Cassidy, and Sho Watanabe,[19] who came second at the 2020 Tokyo Marathon.[20]

The women's wheelchair race featured six competitors.[15] 2019 winner Manuela Schär competed at the 2020 race,[5] and former women's winner Shelly Woods raced in what was her first event for four years.[17][18]

Race summary

Brent Lakatos in the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships 100m T53 race.
Brent Lakatos won the men's wheelchair race.

There were three separate races: the women's race started at 7:15 BST (UTC+1), the men's event started at 10:15 BST, and the wheelchair marathon started at 13:10 BST.[8] All of the races were run in heavy rain due to Storm Alex,[21] which made them the wettest London Marathon in history.[22] The temperature was cold, though it was warmer than the 2004 race, where the temperature was 5.3 °C (41.5 °F) at the start.[22] The conditions inhibited any chance of world records being broken at the event; world record attempts had been thought possible due to the flatness of the 2020 marathon course.[23]

In the women's race, 2019 winner Brigid Kosgei retained her title, winning by over three minutes. Kosgei broke away from the pack 18 miles (29 km) into the race, and stayed ahead for the rest of the race. She finished in a time of 2:18.58.[7] Ruth Chepng'etich was running second until she was overtaken by Sara Hall around 150 metres (490 ft) from the finish line. Hall finished second, in a personal best time, and Chepng'etich third.[21] Hall's second place was the first time that an American had finished in the top three of the London Marathon since 2006, when Deena Kastor won the race.[23] It was also the first time that a non-African had finished in the top three of the event since 2013, when Japan's Yukiko Akaba finished third.[22] Natasha Cockram won the prize for best British finisher, although she was outside the Olympic qualifying time.[24] After the race, Chepng'etich said that she had struggled with the cold, wet conditions.[22]

Woman with orange top racing in a black wheelchair.
Nikita den Boer won the women's wheelchair race.

In the men's race, Shura Kitata won a sprint finish with Vincent Kipchumba and Sisay Lemma, who finished second and third respectively. Shura finished in a time of 2:05:41.[7] The front group completed the first half of the marathon in 1:02:54, and with 4 miles (6.4 km) left in the race, there was a group of nine contenders for the victory.[22] At that point, Shura moved to the front of the field and accelerated the pace. 2019 winner Eliud Kipchoge was dropped from the leading group,[22] and eventually finished in eighth place.[7] It was the first time since 2013 that Kipchoge had lost a marathon race, and after the race, Kipchoge said that he ran the last 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) with a blocked ear.[25] It was Kipchoge's second slowest marathon time.[22] Jonathan Mellor won the prize for best British finisher. He and Ben Connor finished within the Olympic qualifying time.[7]

The men's wheelchair race was won by Canadian Brent Lakatos in a sprint finish involving six athletes.[15] With two laps to go, Lakatos decided to move to the front of the group, and he remained there until the finish.[15] David Weir and Marcel Hug finished second and third respectively,[26] and Sho Watanabe, Jordi Madera, and Kota Hokinoue were also involved in the final sprint.[15] Hug and Watanabe finished with exactly the same time.[27] Lakatos was the first Canadian to finish on the podium in the London Marathon men's wheelchair event for 10 years.[15]

The women's wheelchair was won by Nikita den Boer, who finished 82 seconds clear of pre-race favourite Manuela Schär.[26] The pair had traded the lead throughout the race until around 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the finish, when den Boer took a lead that Schär could not pull back.[15] American Jenna Fesemyer finished third, over 12 minutes behind den Boer. It was den Boer's first World Marathon Majors victory, and she was the first Dutch person to win a London Marathon wheelchair race.[15] Den Boer beat her previous personal best by over 10 minutes, and due to her victory, she qualified for the delayed 2020 Summer Paralympics.[b][28] Schär had won the previous nine World Marathon Majors races that she competed in.[c][15][26]

Results

Men

Elite men's top 10 finishers[29]
Position Athlete Nationality Time
1st place, gold medalist(s) Shura Kitata  Ethiopia 02:05:41
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Vincent Kipchumba  Kenya 02:05:42
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Sisay Lemma  Ethiopia 02:05:45
4 Mosinet Geremew  Ethiopia 02:06:04
5 Mule Wasihun  Ethiopia 02:06:08
6 Tamirat Tola  Ethiopia 02:06:41
7 Benson Kipruto  Kenya 02:06:42
8 Eliud Kipchoge  Kenya 02:06:49
9 Sondre Nordstad Moen  Norway 02:09:01
10 Marius Kipserem  Kenya 02:09:25

Women

Elite women's top 10 finishers[29]
Position Athlete Nationality Time
1st place, gold medalist(s) Brigid Kosgei  Kenya 02:18:58
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Sara Hall  United States 02:22:01
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Ruth Chepng'etich  Kenya 02:22:05
4 Ashete Bekere  Ethiopia 02:22:51
5 Alemu Megertu  Ethiopia 02:24:23
6 Molly Seidel  United States 02:25:13
7 Gerda Steyn  South Africa 02:26:51
8 Sinead Diver  Australia 02:27:07
9 Darya Mykhaylova  Ukraine 02:27:29
10
Valary Jemeli
  Kenya 02:28:18

Wheelchair men

Wheelchair men's finishers[29]
Position Athlete Nationality Time
1st place, gold medalist(s) Brent Lakatos  Canada 01:36:04
2nd place, silver medalist(s) David Weir  United Kingdom 01:36:06
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Marcel Hug  Switzerland 01:36:08
4 Sho Watanabe  Japan 01:36:08
5 Jordi Madera  Spain 01:36:09
6 Kota Hokinoue  Japan 01:36:11
7 Rafael Botello  Spain 01:44:48
8 Heinz Frei  Switzerland 01:52:42
9 James Senbeta  United States 01:59:45

Wheelchair women

Wheelchair women's finishers[29]
Position Athlete Nationality Time
1st place, gold medalist(s) Nikita den Boer  Netherlands 01:40:07
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Manuela Schär  Switzerland 01:41:29
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Jenna Fesemyer  United States 01:52:16
4 Patricia Eachus  Switzerland 02:02:38
5 Margriet van den Broek  Netherlands 02:10:05

Virtual marathon

A virtual marathon event was also held to allow people to run a marathon distance and record their own times. The virtual race had an entry fee, with all proceeds going to charity.

Guinness World Record for most users to run an organised remote marathon in 24 hours.[32]

Notes

  1. ^ On 4 September 2020, Farah set the men's all-time record for the one hour run at the 2020 Diamond League meeting in Brussels, Belgium, covering 21,330 metres (13.25 miles).[11]
  2. ^ The Dutch qualifying standard for the 2020 London Marathon was to finish in the top four.[28]
  3. ^ Schär did not compete at the 2020 Tokyo Marathon.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Coronavirus: London Marathon postponed until October". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 14 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  2. ^ McGuire, Jane (16 March 2020). "Everything you need to know about the London Marathon 2020". Runner's World. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d "London Marathon: 2020 edition to be elite-only race, with mass event cancelled". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "2020 London Marathon Elite Fields Released: Eliud Kipchoge, Kenenisa Bekele, Brigid Kosgei Lead Field That Includes Americans Jared Ward, Molly Seidel And Sara Hall". Let's Run. 20 August 2020. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e "First look at the 2020 London Marathon course". Athletics Weekly. 3 September 2020. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Field, Pippa (2 October 2020). "London Marathon 2020: when is the elite-only race, what time does it start and who is running this year?". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e "London Marathon 2020: Eliud Kipchoge beaten as Shura Kitata takes title". BBC Sport. 4 October 2020. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d e f McGuire, Jane (28 August 2020). "London Marathon announce race schedule for elite-only race". Runner's World. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  9. ^ "London Marathon: Degitu Azimeraw out of race after positive Covid-19 test". BBC Sport. 29 September 2020. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  10. ^ Rathorn, Jack (2 October 2020). "Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele duel in London Marathon's battle of stars and shoes". The Independent. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  11. ^ "Mo Farah breaks one-hour world record at Brussels Diamond League". BBC. 4 September 2020. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Mo Farah breaks one-hour world record at Brussels Diamond League". BBC. 4 September 2020. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  13. ^ Ingle, Sean (2 October 2020). "Kenenisa Bekele withdraws from London Marathon with calf injury". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  14. ^ Kelly, Madeleine (21 August 2020). "London Marathon releases its best elite field in years". Running Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Brent Lakatos and Nikita Den Boer Capture the London Marathon Wheelchair Titles". Runner's World. 4 October 2020. Archived from the original on 6 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  16. ^ a b "London Marathon 2020: The rivals, the virtual runners, coverage details and more". BBC Sport. 3 October 2020. Archived from the original on 3 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  17. ^ a b "Wheelchair racers return to the road in London". World Para Athletics. 3 October 2020. Archived from the original on 6 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  18. ^ a b "Daniel Romanchuk and Manuela Schär to defend London Marathon titles". Athletics Weekly. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Romanchuk and Schӓr headline wheelchair fields at 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon". Run 24 7. 28 August 2020. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  20. ^ "Tokyo Marathon 2020 Race result". Tokyo Marathon. 1 March 2020. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  21. ^ a b Butler, Sarah Lorge (4 October 2020). "Sara Hall Chases Down a Personal Best at 2020 London Marathon". Runner's World. Archived from the original on 6 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g Ingle, Sean (4 October 2020). "London Marathon: Kitata and Kosgei win as blocked ear foils Kipchoge". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  23. ^ a b Dennehey, Cathal (4 October 2020). "Brigid Kosgei Asserts Her Dominance in the Distance With a 2020 London Marathon Win". Runner's World. Archived from the original on 6 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  24. ^ "Natasha Cockram: New British marathon champion targets Tokyo Olympics". BBC Sport. 5 October 2020. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  25. ^ Pippa, Pippa (4 October 2020). "World record holder Eliud Kipchoge dethroned as Shura Kitata sprints to men's London Marathon title". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  26. ^ a b c "London Marathon 2020: David Weir misses out on ninth title". BBC Sport. 4 October 2020. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  27. ^ Whittington, Jessica (4 October 2020). "Lakatos and Den Boer battle to wheelchair wins in London". Athletics Weekly. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  28. ^ a b "Nikita den Boer and Brent Lakatos win for the first time in London". World Para Athletics. 4 October 2020. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  29. ^ a b c d "Leaderboard KM". London Marathon. 4 October 2020. Archived from the original on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  30. ^ McGuire, Jane (24 September 2020). "London Marathon reveal their 40th race medal". Runner's World. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  31. ^ Ingle, Sean (4 October 2020). "'Strangest ever' London Marathon is a virtual hit with 43,000 runners". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  32. ^ "London Marathon organisers hope to set world record for runners in 2021". The Guardian. 21 January 2021. Archived from the original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.

External links

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