List of winners of the London Marathon
Encyclopedia
London Marathon
The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...
, one of the five World Marathon Majors
World Marathon Majors
The World Marathon Majors is a championship-style competition for marathon runners that started in 2006. It comprises five annual races for the cities of Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, and New York City. Two other races are also included in the series: the IAAF World Championships Marathon and...
, has been contested by men and women annually since 29 March 1981. Set over a largely flat course around the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
, the marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
is 26.2 miles (42.2 km) in length and generally regarded as a competitive and unpredictable event, and conducive to fast times.
The inaugural marathon had 7,741 entrants, 6,255 of whom completed the race. The first Men's Elite Race was tie
Tie (draw)
To tie or draw is to finish a competition with identical or inconclusive results. The word "tie" is usually used in North America for sports such as American football. "Draw" is usually used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations and it is usually used for sports such as...
d between American Dick Beardsley
Dick Beardsley
Dick Beardsley is an American long-distance runner best known for his close finish with Alberto Salazar in the 1982 Boston Marathon.-Running career:...
and Norwegian Inge Simonsen
Inge Simonsen
Inge Simonsen is a Norwegian distance runner who tied for first place in the inaugural 1981 London Marathon. In that race, he and the other winner, American Dick Beardsley, intentionally crossed the finish line, in 2:11:48, holding hands in a dead heat...
, who crossed the finish line holding hands in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 48 seconds. The first Women's Elite Race was won by Briton Joyce Smith
Joyce Smith
Joyce Esther Smith is a British former long distance runner.Smith was born in Stoke Newington, London, and began running competitively in the 1950s, at which time the longest distance for women in international competitions was 800 metres. She won the English National Crosscountry Championship in...
in 2:29:57. In 1983, the first wheelchair race
Wheelchair racing
Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and partially sighted . Athletes are classified in accordance with the nature and severity of their...
s took place. Organized by the British Sports Association for the Disabled
English Federation of Disability Sport
The English Federation of Disability Sport is an umbrella organization promoting sport for athletes with disabilities in England. Founded in 1998, the Federation brought together a number of organizations who had separately promoted disabled sports before its creation...
(BASD), 19 people competed and 17 finished. Gordon Perry
Gordon Perry (athlete)
Gordon Perry is a British wheelchair athlete who has competed in wheelchair racing and wheelchair basketball. The winner of the inaugural London Marathon wheelchair race, Perry competed in a number of wheelchair races during his racing career...
of the United Kingdom won the Men's Wheelchair Race, coming in at 3:20:07, and Denise Smith
Denise Smith (athlete)
Denise Smith is a former British wheelchair athlete. A paralympian and longtime wheelchair athlete, Smith won the inaugural London Marathon wheelchair race in a time of 4:29:03. She competed in ice sledge speed racing at the 1984 Winter Paralympics and won three silver medals in the 100, 300, and...
, also of the UK, won the Women's Wheelchair Race in 4:29:03.
Twenty athletes representing the United Kingdom have won the London Marathon a total of forty times. The most recent win by a British athlete was in the 2011 London Marathon, by David Weir
David Weir (paralympic athlete)
David Weir MBE is an elite British Paralympic wheelchair athlete from London, England. On 13 April 2008, Weir won his third London Marathon in a row, and his fourth in total. He came third in the 2010 London marathon, after getting a flat tyre on his new chair...
in the Men's Wheelchair Race. It was his fifth win in London. Kenya has the second largest number of winning athletes. Six Kenyan men and four Kenyan women have been victorious a total of thirteen times, all in the able-bodied category. Nine men, including those from the wheelchair races, have won the marathon more than once, Weir's five wins being the record. Fifteen women have been winners more than once; Tanni Grey-Thompson
Tanni Grey-Thompson
Carys Davina "Tanni" Grey-Thompson, Baroness Grey-Thompson, DBE is a Welsh athlete and TV presenter.Grey-Thompson was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. She is considered to be one of the most successful disabled athletes in the UK...
won the women's wheelchair race six times between 1992 and 2002.
Course records for the London Marathon have been set nine times in the men's race, eight times in the women's race, fifteen times in the men's wheelchair race, and eleven times in the women's wheelchair race. World records for marathon running have been set four times. Khalid Khannouchi
Khalid Khannouchi
Khalid Khannouchi is a Moroccan American marathoner. He was born in Meknes, Morocco. He is the former world record holder for the marathon and held the former road world best for the 20 km distance. He is one of only five men to break the marathon world record more than once, and one of only four...
, representing the United States, set the men's world record in 2:05:38 in 2002. The following year, British runner Paula Radcliffe
Paula Radcliffe
Paula Jane Radcliffe, MBE is an English long-distance runner. She is the current women's world record holder in the marathon with her time of 2:15:25 hours...
set the women's world record in 2:15:25, which also stands as the current course record in the Women's Elite Race. Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya set the course record at 2:04:40 in 2011 in the Men's Elite Race. Kurt Fearnley
Kurt Fearnley
Kurt Fearnley OAM is an Australian wheelchair racer, who competes at the Olympic level. At the 2004 Olympic Games, he finished 5th in the demonstration sport of Men's 1500m wheelchair...
set the Men's Wheelchair Race course record at 1:28:57 in 2009. The course record for the Women's Wheelchair Race was set by Swiss athlete Sandra Graf
Sandra Graf
Sandra Graf is a Swiss wheelchair athlete. Graf competes in wheelchair races of a variety of distances. She has twice put her career on hold to have children. In 2003 a lung embolism set back her training and kept her from competing in the marathon and 5000 meter distances, although she still...
in 2008, with 1:48:04.
Men's Elite Race winners
| Year | Athlete | Nationality | Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
Notes |
|---|
| 1981 |
|
| 2:11:48
| Course record; tied
Tie (draw)
To tie or draw is to finish a competition with identical or inconclusive results. The word "tie" is usually used in North America for sports such as American football. "Draw" is usually used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations and it is usually used for sports such as...
with Inge Simonsen
Inge Simonsen
Inge Simonsen is a Norwegian distance runner who tied for first place in the inaugural 1981 London Marathon. In that race, he and the other winner, American Dick Beardsley, intentionally crossed the finish line, in 2:11:48, holding hands in a dead heat...
|-
| 1981
|
|
| 2:11:48
| Course record; tied
Tie (draw)
To tie or draw is to finish a competition with identical or inconclusive results. The word "tie" is usually used in North America for sports such as American football. "Draw" is usually used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations and it is usually used for sports such as...
with Dick Beardsley
Dick Beardsley
Dick Beardsley is an American long-distance runner best known for his close finish with Alberto Salazar in the 1982 Boston Marathon.-Running career:...
|-
| 1982
|
|
| 2:09:24
| Course record
|-
| 1983
|
|
| 2:09:43
|
|-
| 1984
|
|
| 2:09:57
|
|-
| 1985
|
|
| 2:08:16
| Course record
|-
| 1986
|
|
| 2:10:02
|
|-
| 1987
|
|
| 2:09:50
|
|-
| 1988
|
|
| 2:10:20
|
|-
| 1989
|
|
| 2:09:03
|
|-
| 1990
|
|
| 2:10:10
|
|-
| 1991
|
|
| 2:09:17
|
|-
| 1992
|
|
| 2:10:02
|
|-
| 1993
|
|
| 2:10:50
|
|-
| 1994
|
|
| 2:08:53
|
|-
| 1995
|
|
| 2:08:30
| Second victory
|-
| 1996
|
|
| 2:10:00
| Third victory
|-
| 1997
|
|
| 2:07:55
| Course record; second victory
|-
| 1998
|
|
| 2:07:57
|
|-
| 1999
|
|
| 2:07:57
|
|-
| 2000
|
|
| 2:06:36
| Course record; third victory
|-
| 2001
|
|
| 2:07:09
| Second victory
|-
| 2002
|
|
| 2:05:38
| World marathon record
|-
| 2003
|
|
| 2:07:56
|
|-
| 2004
|
|
| 2:06:18
|
|-
| 2005
|
|
| 2:07:35
|
|-
| 2006
|
|
| 2:06:39
|
|-
| 2007
|
|
| 2:07:41
| Second victory
|-
| 2008
|
|
|2:05:15
| Course record; third victory
|-
| 2009
|
|
| 2:05:10
| Course record
|-
| 2010
|
|
| 2:05:19
| Provisional Result
|-
| 2011
|
|
| 2:04:40
| Course record
|}
Women's Elite Race winners
| Year | Athlete | Nationality | Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 2:29:57 | Course record | ||
| 1982 | 2:29:43 | Course record; second victory | ||
| 1983 | 2:25:29 | World marathon record | ||
| 1984 | 2:24:26 | Course record | ||
| 1985 | 2:21:06 | World marathon record; second victory | ||
| 1986 | 2:24:54 | Second victory | ||
| 1987 | 2:22:48 | Third victory | ||
| 1988 | 2:25:41 | Fourth victory | ||
| 1989 | 2:25:56 | |||
| 1990 | 2:26:31 | |||
| 1991 | 2:26:14 | |||
| 1992 | 2:29:39 | |||
| 1993 | 2:27:09 | Second victory | ||
| 1994 | 2:32:34 | Third victory | ||
| 1995 | 2:27:43 | |||
| 1996 | 2:27:54 | |||
| 1997 | 2:26:51 | |||
| 1998 | 2:26:26 | |||
| 1999 | 2:23:22 | Second victory | ||
| 2000 | 2:24:33 | |||
| 2001 | 2:23:57 | |||
| 2002 | 2:18:56 | Course record | ||
| 2003 | 2:15:25 | World marathon record; second victory | ||
| 2004 | 2:22:35 | |||
| 2005 | 2:17:42 | Third victory | ||
| 2006 | 2:19:35 | |||
| 2007 | 2:20:38 | |||
| 2008 | 2:24:14 | |||
| 2009 | 2:22:11 | Second victory | ||
| 2010 | 2:22:00 | |||
| 2011 | 2:19:19 |
Men's Wheelchair Race winners
| Year | Athlete | Nationality | Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 3:20:07 | Course record | ||
| 1984 | 2:38:40 | Course record | ||
| 1985 | 2:19:53 | Course record | ||
| 1986 | 2:26:38 | |||
| 1987 | 2:08:34 | Course record; second victory | ||
| 1988 | 2:01:37 | Course record | ||
| 1989 | 1:59:31 | Course record | ||
| 1990 | 1:57:12 | Course record | ||
| 1991 | 1:52:52 | Course record | ||
| 1992 | 1:51:42 | Course record | ||
| 1993 | 1:44:10 | Course record | ||
| 1994 | 1:46:06 | Second victory | ||
| 1995 | 1:39:14 | Course record | ||
| 1996 | 1:43:48 | Third victory | ||
| 1997 | 1:42:15 | Fourth victory | ||
| 1998 | 1:35:18 | Course record; second victory | ||
| 1999 | 1:35:27 | Third victory | ||
| 2000 | 1:41:50 | |||
| 2001 | 1:42:37 | |||
| 2002 | 1:39:44 | |||
| 2003 | 1:32:02 | Course record | ||
| 2004 | 1:36:56 | |||
| 2005 | 1:35:51 | Second victory | ||
| 2006 | 1:29:48 | Course record; second victory | ||
| 2007 | 1:30:51 | Third victory | ||
| 2008 | 1:33:56 | Fourth victory | ||
| 2009 | 1:28:57 | Course record | ||
| 2010 | 1:35:21 | |||
| 2011 | Fifth victory |
Women's Wheelchair Race winners
| Year | Athlete | Nationality | Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 4:29:03 | Course record | ||
| 1984 | 3:10:04 | Course record | ||
| 1985 | 2:47:12 | Course record; second victory | ||
| 1986 | 3:02:40 | Third victory | ||
| 1987 | 2:45:30 | Course record | ||
| 1988 | 2:41:45 | Course record | ||
| 1989 | 3:03:54 | |||
| 1990 | 2:10:25 | Course record | ||
| 1991 | 2:04:40 | Course record; second victory | ||
| 1992 | 2:17:23 | |||
| 1993 | 2:03:05 | Course record | ||
| 1994 | 2:08:26 | Second victory | ||
| 1995 | 2:17:02 | Second victory | ||
| 1996 | 2:00:10 | Course record; third victory | ||
| 1997 | 1:49:09 | Course record | ||
| 1998 | 2:02:01 | Fourth victory | ||
| 1999 | 1:57:38 | Second victory | ||
| 2000 | 2:23:30 | |||
| 2001 | 2:13:55 | Fifth victory | ||
| 2002 | 2:22:51 | Sixth victory | ||
| 2003 | 2:04:21 | |||
| 2004 | 2:04:58 | Second victory | ||
| 2005 | 1:57:00 | Third victory | ||
| 2006 | 1:59:57 | Fourth victory | ||
| 2007 | 1:50:40 | |||
| 2008 | 1:48:04 | Course record | ||
| 2009 | 1:50:39 | |||
| 2010 | 1:52:33 | |||
| 2011 | 1:46:30 | Course record; second victory |
Victories by nationality
| Country | Men's race |
Women's race |
Men's wheelchair |
Women's Wheelchair |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 40 | |
| 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 13 | |
| 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
| 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | |
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
External links
- Virgin London Marathon Official London MarathonLondon MarathonThe London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...
website - London Marathon World Marathon MajorsWorld Marathon MajorsThe World Marathon Majors is a championship-style competition for marathon runners that started in 2006. It comprises five annual races for the cities of Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, and New York City. Two other races are also included in the series: the IAAF World Championships Marathon and...
website - London Marathon BBC LondonBBC LondonBBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London and parts of the surrounding area. Its output includes the daily BBC London News and the weekly Politics Show on television, the BBC London 94.9 radio station and local coverage of the...
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