2023 London Marathon
The 2023 London Marathon is scheduled to be the 43rd running of the annual London Marathon on 23 April 2023. It will be the first time since 2019 that the event will be run in the spring, as the previous three races were run in autumn due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| 43rd London Marathon | |
|---|---|
| Venue | London, England |
| Date | 23 April 2023 |
← 2022 2024 → | |
Background
In August 2021, race organisers confirmed that the 2023 event would take place on 23 April; the 2020, 2021 and 2022 events were all held in autumn due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] The winners of the elite events will receive $55,000, and prizes will be given to the top 10 finishers. The total prize money for each elite event will be $313,000.[2] The prize money for the winners of the wheelchair races will be increased by $10,000 to $45,000, with total prize money for each wheelchair event increased from $199,500 to $253,500.[2][3]
For the first time, competitors in the mass participation event could register as non-binary;[4] there was no elite event for non-binary competitors.[5] 118 non-binary competitors signed for the race.[6] There will be a virtual marathon held on the same date as the in-person event.[7] In the United Kingdom, the races will be broadcast on BBC One,[8] and it will be broadcast in 197 countries.[6]
Course
The marathon distance is officially 42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi) long as sanctioned by World Athletics.[9] The London Marathon is run over a mainly flat course, starting in Blackheath.[10] The course begins at three separate points and they converge just before 3 miles (4.8 km) into the race.[11] At just after 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) into the race, the runners reach the 19th-century clipper Cutty Sark docked in Greenwich[12] and at about halfway into the race, the runners cross Tower Bridge[13] before heading east into Shadwell and Canary Wharf.[10] After winding through Canary Wharf, the route returns through Shadwell on the other side of the road to which it entered before passing through Tower Hill.[13] The runners enter the underpass in Blackfriars before running along the Thames Embankment, past Westminster and onto Birdcage Walk.[13][10] The course then runs parallel to St James's Park before turning onto The Mall and finishing in front of Buckingham Palace.[13][10]
Competitors
The elite men's race is scheduled to feature four of the fastest five competitors in history: Kenenisa Bekele, Kelvin Kiptum, Birhanu Legese and Mosinet Geremew.[14] Bekele has won multiple Olympic medals and Kiptum recorded the fastest marathon debut ever at the 2022 Valencia Marathon.[15] Amos Kipruto, who won the 2022 race, is also scheduled to return in 2023.[14] Other scheduled competitors include Tamirat Tola, who won the marathon event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Geoffrey Kamworor, who has won two New York City Marathons, Leul Gebresilase, who finished second at the 2022 London Marathon, and Vincent Kipchumba, who finished second in both 2020 and 2021.[15] Briton Mo Farah is set to race in his final London Marathon, and other British athletes scheduled to compete include Weynay Ghebresilasie, the fastest finishing Briton in 2022, Emile Cairess,[16] Chris Thompson[17] and Dewi Griffiths.[18] World record holder Eliud Kipchoge will not compete in London, as he chose to race the 2023 Boston Marathon instead.[14]
The elite women's race is set to feature five runners with a personal best (PB) time under 2:18, and ten runners with a PB under 2:19.[19] Competitors will include world record holder Brigid Kosgei, 2020 Summer Olympics champion Peres Jepchirchir and 2022 winner Yalemzerf Yehualaw.[19][20] Also scheduled to compete are Genzebe Dibaba, the record holder in the 1,500 metres and Almaz Ayana, who won the 10,000 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[19] Sifan Hassan, who won the 5,000 and 10,000 metres events at the 2020 Olympics is scheduled to make her marathon debut.[19][20] British competitors scheduled to compete include Stephanie Davis,[19] Samantha Harrison and Alice Wright.[18] Tigist Assefa, who won the 2022 Berlin Marathon, withdrew in March 2023 due to tendonitis. Britons Jess Piasecki and Charlotte Purdue both withdrew in the same month.[21] On 21 April, Briton Eilish McColgan withdrew due to a knee injury; she had been scheduled to make her marathon debut at the event.[22]
The men's wheelchair competition will feature Marcel Hug, who has won the previous two events. Other competitors include Daniel Romanchuk, who came second in 2022, and eight-time former winner David Weir in his 24th consecutive London Marathon.[3]
The women's wheelchair event will feature 2022 winner Catherine Debrunner, as well as former winners Manuela Schär, Madison de Rozario, Nikita den Boer and Tatyana McFadden. Also scheduled to compete are Susannah Scaroni, who won the 2022 Chicago Marathon,[3] twice former winner Shelly Woods[23] and Eden Rainbow-Cooper, who came third on marathon debut at the 2022 race.[3]
Race summary
The wheelchair races are due to commence at 08:50 BST (UTC+1), the elite women's competition is scheduled to begin at 09:00 BST and the elite men's event should start at 09:40 BST. The mass participation event is expected to start in waves between 10:00 and 11:30 BST.[24] The elite men's and mass participation events will be started by Eliud Kipchoge.[25] wheelchair races will be started by Gordon Perry, who won the inaugural London Marathon wheelchair event in 1983.[18] A mini-marathon is scheduled to take place on 22 April, and will be started by Jake Wightman, who won the 1,500 metres event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships.[26]
Former sportspeople scheduled to compete in the marathon event include former Olympic curler Eve Muirhead and former England rugby union captain Chris Robshaw.[18] Other celebrities scheduled to compete include presenters Chris Evans[6] and Adele Roberts,[18] Harry Judd from the band McFly,[6] Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons[18] actor Josh O'Connor[25] and 10 current Members of Parliament.[6]
References
- ^ "London Marathon: October date confirmed for 2022 event". BBC Sport. 6 July 2022. from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ a b "London Marathon 2023: Prize money, start time, race favourites, route, history, how to watch and is Eilish McColgan running?". The Scotsman. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Hug and Debrunner defend London wheelchair titles". Athletics Weekly. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
- ^ "London Marathon adds a non-binary option to its ballot entry". Runner's World. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- ^ "London Marathon include non-binary category for 2023 race". The Independent. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Everything you need to know about the 2023 London Marathon". The Independent. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ "How to enter London Marathon 2023". Wales Online. 2 October 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- ^ "London Marathon 2023: Date, start time, course route and how to follow as huge event returns to traditional spring slot in sporting calendar". Talksport. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ . International Association of Athletics Federations. 2009. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.
- ^ a b c d Hughes, David (28 April 2019). "London Marathon 2019 route: map, road closures, start times and where to watch". i. from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- ^ "London Marathon 2021 route that runners will take – See every mile". Wimbledon Times. 3 October 2021. from the original on 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- ^ "History of Cutty Sark". Royal Museums Greenwich. from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
- ^ a b c d Harris-Fry, Nick (25 April 2019). "The Runner's Guide to the London Marathon Route". Coach. from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ^ a b c "London Marathon 2023: Kenenisa Bekele among four of the five fastest men in history in elite men's field". BBC Sport. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- ^ a b "Kenenisa Bekele leads list of all-stars in London". Athletics Weekly. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- ^ "London Marathon 2023: Mo Farah prepares for 'emotional goodbye' at home race". BBC Sport. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- ^ "Chris Thompson: "I want to push the boundaries of what's possible"". Athletics Weekly. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "London Marathon 2023: Everything you need to know about this year's race". BBC Sport. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Sifan Hassan part of arguably strongest women's marathon field in history". Athletics Weekly. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
- ^ a b "London Marathon 2023: Double Olympic champion Sifan Hassan ready to 'step into the unknown'". BBC Sport. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
- ^ "Purdue, Piasecki and Assefa all pull out of London Marathon 2023". Women's Running. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
- ^ "London Marathon 2023: Eilish McColgan to miss debut because of knee injury". BBC Sport. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ "London Marathon 2023: How to follow BBC coverage as Mo Farah and Eilish McColgan compete". BBC Sport. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- ^ "London Marathon 2023 route map: Where the race is, road closures list in full and what time it starts". i. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- ^ a b "London Marathon 2023: 'very wet' rainy weather forecast". The Guardian. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- ^ "Who, what and when guide: 2023 TCS London Marathon". Athletics Weekly. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.