The London Marathon's elite fields are primed for explosive battles on Sunday as last year's champions return for the third marathon major of the year. But organizers will be watching just as intently for what happens after the finish line amid a string of high-profile doping cases that have cast doubt over the sport's lightning-fast times.
Kenya's Sabastian Sawe, who claimed victory last year in 2:02.27, felt the sting of his sport's credibility crisis when compatriot and world record holder Ruth Chepngetich was suspended. His response was dramatic — submitting to 25 doping tests in just two months before winning the Berlin Marathon in 2:02.16.
"I wanted to prove to the world that we Kenyans can achieve amazing results without there always (being) the dark cloud of doping over our heads," Sawe told letsrun.com.
Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo, last year's runner-up who went on to win Chicago in 2:02.23, will be hunting Sawe again, with 2024 Olympic champion Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia also expected to feature prominently. The trio will be chasing the course record of 2:01.25 set by Kelvin Kiptum, who died in a car accident in 2024.
The sport's doping troubles run deep through London Marathon history. Double winner Wilson Kipsang received a four-year ban in 2020, while 2016 women's champion and former Olympic gold medallist Jemima Sumgong was hit with an eight-year suspension in 2019.
Olympic champion Sifan Hasan's withdrawal with an Achilles injury has robbed the women's race of a marquee name, but defending champion Tigst Assefa brings serious firepower after her world record 2:15.50 victory last year. She faces a Kenyan double threat from former winner and 2023 runner-up Joyciline Jepkosgei and Olympic bronze medallist Hellen Obiri.
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