LONDON MARATHON

 

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The London Marathon is a marathon race that has been held each year in London since 1981, usually in April. While it is run over the traditional distance of 42.195 km [26 miles and 385 yards], it is not the conventional marathon it was intended to be; it has become a large, celebratory sporting festival.

 

 

 

London Marathon

 

 

Description

 

The London Marathon was founded by former Olympic champion and renowned journalist Chris Brasher, who was influenced by the New York Marathon and aspired to establish a race of this scale.

 

The London Marathon came into existence on March 29, 1981, when nearly 7,500 athletes participated in the race. By the 25th event the number of starters reached 35,680.

 

Whilst it is a serious athletic event, with large prize money attracting elite athletes, public perception of the race is dominated by the fun runners. Sometimes in ludicrous fancy dress and often collecting money for charity, these make up the bulk of the 30,000+ runners and help to draw crowds of half a million on the streets.

 

On April 19, 2003, former boxer Michael Watson, who had been told he would never be able to walk again after a fight with Chris Eubank, made headlines by finishing the marathon after six days of competing, becoming a national hero in England.

 

The 2006 London Marathon was held on 23 April ([1], [2], [3], [4], [5]), which was also St George's Day (St. George is the patron saint of England).

 

The next London Marathon will take place on Sunday, April 22, 2007.

 

 

Results

 

Run over a largely flat course around the River Thames, the London Marathon is generally regarded as a very competitive and unpredictable event, and conducive to fast times. The record times are shown in bold below and also highlighted in the history tables:

 

  • 2:05:38 for men (Khalid Khannouchi, USA) in 2002 and

  • 2:15:25 for women (Paula Radcliffe, UK) in 2003.

 

 

Men's race

 

Winning times for the London Marathon Men’s race

 

Year

Athlete

Country

Time

1981

Inge Simonsen & Dick Beardsley

Norway & USA

2:11:48
(dead heat)

1982

Hugh Jones

UK

2:09:24

1983

Mike Gratton

UK

2:09:43

1984

Charlie Spedding

UK

2:09:57

1985

Steve Jones

UK

2:08:16

1986

Toshihiko Seko

Japan

2:10:02

1987

Hiromi Taniguchi

Japan

2:09:50

1988

Henrik Jørgensen

Denmark

2:10:20

1989

Douglas Wakiihuri

Kenya

2:09:03

1990

Allister Hutton

UK

2:10:10

1991

Yakov Tolstikov

Russia

2:09:17

1992

António Pinto

Portugal

2:10:02

1993

Eamonn Martin

UK

2:10:50

1994

Dionicio Cerón

Mexico

2:08:53

1995

Dionicio Cerón

Mexico

2:08:30

1996

Dionicio Cerón

Mexico

2:10:00

1997

António Pinto

Portugal

2:07:55

1998

Abel Antón

Spain

2:07:57

1999

Abdelkader El Mouaziz

Morocco

2:07:57

2000

António Pinto

Portugal

2:06:36

2001

Abdelkader El Mouaziz

Morocco

2:07:09

2002

Khalid Khannouchi

USA

2:05:38
(Men's World Record)

2003

Gezahegne Abera

Ethiopia

2:07:56

2004

Evans Rutto

Kenya

2:06:18

2005

Martin Lel

Kenya

2:07:35

2006

Felix Limo

Kenya

2:06:39

 

 

 

Graph of the winning times for the London Marathon Men’s race

 

 

 

Women's race

 

Winning times for the London Marathon Women’s race

 

Year

Athlete

Country

Time

1981

Joyce Smith

UK

2:29:57

1982

Joyce Smith

UK

2:29:43

1983

Grete Waitz

Norway

2:25:29

1984

Ingrid Kristiansen

Norway

2:24:26

1985

Ingrid Kristiansen

Norway

2:21:06

1986

Grete Waitz

Norway

2:24:54

1987

Ingrid Kristiansen

Norway

2:22:48

1988

Ingrid Kristiansen

Norway

2:25:41

1989

Véronique Marot

UK

2:25:56

1990

Wanda Panfil

Poland

2:26:31

1991

Rosa Mota

Portugal

2:26:14

1992

Katrin Dörre

Germany

2:29:39

1993

Katrin Dörre

Germany

2:27:09

1994

Katrin Dörre

Germany

2:32:34

1995

Malgorzata Sobanska

Poland

2:27:43

1996

Liz McColgan

UK

2:27:54

1997

Joyce Chepchumba

Kenya

2:26:51

1998

Catherina McKiernan

Ireland

2:26:26

1999

Joyce Chepchumba

Kenya

2:23:22

2000

Tegla Laroupe

Kenya

2:24:33

2001

Derartu Tulu

Ethiopia

2:23:57

2002

Paula Radcliffe

UK

2:18:56

2003

Paula Radcliffe

UK

2:15:25
(Women's World Record)

2004

Margaret Okayo

Kenya

2:22:35

2005

Paula Radcliffe

UK

2:17:42
(Women Only World Best)

2006

Deena Kastor

USA

2:19:35

 

 

 

Graph of the winning times for the London Marathon Women’s race

 

 

 

Men's wheelchair race

Winning times for the London Marathon Men’s wheelchair race

 

Year

Athlete

Country

Time

2002

David Weir

UK

1:39:44

2003

Joel Jeannot

France

1:32:02

2004

Saúl Mendoza

Mexico

2005

Saúl Mendoza

Mexico

1:35:51

2006

David Weir

UK

1:29:48

 

Women's wheelchair race

Winning times for the London Marathon Women’s wheelchair race

 

Year

Athlete

Country

Time

1997

Tanni Grey-Thompson

UK

1998

Tanni Grey-Thompson

UK

1999

Tanni Grey-Thompson

UK

2000

Tanni Grey-Thompson

UK

2001

Tanni Grey-Thompson

UK

2002

Tanni Grey-Thompson

UK

2:22:51

2003

Francesca Porcellato

Italy

2:04:21

2004

Francesca Porcellato

Italy

2:05:00

2005

Francesca Porcellato

Italy

1:57:00

2006

Francesca Porcellato

Italy

1:59:57

 

 

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