2022 London Marathon Diary, London Overview

London Overview

The 2022 TCS London Marathon, the 42nd edition of the event, took place on Sunday 2 October, with just over 49,000 people scheduled to run. This was the third and final time the event was held in the autumn, having been moved from the traditional April slot due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2023 race will return to the spring on Saturday 23 April. The day was dry but quite cold.

The winner of the men’s race was Amos Kipruto from Kenya.  The podium results were: 

1 Amos Kipruto 2:03.39

2 Leul Gebresilase 2:05.12

3 Bashir Abdi 2:05.19

Kipruto, running London for the first time, said: “My London debut and it’s a wonderful day. I’m very happy, but I can’t explain how I won. I decided to make a decisive break.  Because of my training, I was confident, and I knew when to go.

“Kipchoge is an inspiration for us all, and he is a legend for the young generation in Kenya. He is at another level in the sport and has been a mentor to me. I really wish to follow in his footsteps. I’m so proud to be here”.

Yalemzerf Yehualaw won the elite women’s race in a stunning time of 2:17:26, helped significantly by a 4:43 mile split at 24 miles. That was the third fastest time ever at the London Marathon. Just 23, she is the youngest ever winner in London.

1 Yalemzerf Yehualaw 2:17:26

2 Joyciline Jepkosgei 2:18.07

3 Alemu Megertu 2:18.32

 Yehualaw, whose English is limited, commented: “I really like this race. I knew it was fast-paced, and I was aware we were on record-breaking world time at one point, but I just focused on running as fast as possible. Ethiopians are tough athletes, and we work hard to race as well as possible”.
Second place Joyciline Jepkosgei added: “I love London! The streets of London are the best – the crowds cheer us all the way and keep us motivated when we’re running.”

In the Men’s wheelchair race, the results were:

1 Marcel Hug 1:24.38

2 Daniel Romanchuk 1:24.40

3 David Weir 1:30.41

Hug, who set a new London record, commented: “It was a really tough race out there today, one of the toughest. Dan was strong today, and I did everything possible to break away. I tried to up my pace to tire…