by Larry Eder
This is the overview of the 2022 TCS London Marathon, written by Stuart Weir. Stuart Weir is the senior writer for Europe for RunBlogRun. Stuart Weir travels worldwide to cover the sport for RunBlogRun and Athletics Weekly. Every week, Stuart Weir writes 5-6 pieces a week and, for most of the last 3 years, has spent an hour of his week speaking with Larry Eder on #AthleticsChat, the weekly podcast from RunBlogRun, commenting on the world of athletics.
Enjoy Stuart’s column on the 2022 TCS London Marathon, which was held on October 2, 2022. Next year, London returns to its spring dates on April 23, 2023.
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 him, but he was just too strong. I think that was one of his best performances of all time. I was very happy with my sprint. I’ve gained confidence since Tokyo, and my new chair feels amazing to race in.”
Hug, who won $35,000, commented on the additional recognition for wheelchair athletes: “Yes, it’s getting better, and this means a lot to wheelchair athletes as well as myself. I think it strongly encourages more wheelchair athletes to race.”
In the women’s wheelchair race, Catherine Debrunner won her second marathon in a week – Berlin last week, London this week. She was an experienced track athlete who had not competed at the marathon distance before last week. The result was:
1 Catherine Debrunner 1:38.24
2 Susannah Scaroni 1:42.21
3 Eden Rainbow-Cooper 1:47.27
Debrunner said: “The feeling is unbelievable and so incredible; I’m so proud I did it all by myself. It was so tough; it was a crazy route. It’s been a great adventure and experience. I spoke with Susannah [Scaroni] when we knew both Manuela [Schär] and Madison [de Rozario] had withdrawn, and we agreed to work together.
“I trained for three months with my coach in Holland and saw a big progression in that time, but I never expected to win today. I like this distance because it’s extremely tough mentally, and I love it already”.
Nicola Bishop, featured last week on RunBlogRun, finished in 3:16.45 in the women’s race.
