Find out who won the elite races in the 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon
The elite races at the Virgin Money London Marathon started with a Swiss double in the elite wheelchair events. They were followed by a new women’s champion.
Hug was first across the world-famous London Marathon Finish Line on The Mall, setting a new course record time of 1:26:27, as the event returned to the streets of the capital after a hiatus of 889 days.
The Swiss athlete, nicknamed the ‘silver bullet’ thanks to his distinctive metallic helmet, took an emphatic third London win to follow-up his victory at the Berlin Marathon last weekend.
Daniel Romanchuk of the USA was runner-up in 1:29:27, with Great Britain’s David Weir in third place, outsprinting 2020 champion Brent Lakatos to take the third place on the podium.
In the women’s wheelchair event, Switzerland’s Manuela Schär also took a third London win as she dominated from the start. Pushing more than two minutes clear by 20K, Schär set a new course record of 1:39:52, breaking her own mark set in 2017 by five seconds. Five minutes behind, 17-year-old Merle Menje finished in 1:44:51 on her debut to take the runner-up spot, with the USA’s Tatyana McFadden placing third in the same time.
In the Abbott World Marathon Majors Flying 400 event, a race within the wheelchair race that was introduced in 2019, Romanchuk took the $6,500 prize as the fastest man to sprint 400m just after the 20K mark near Tower Bridge, covering the distance in just 42 seconds. Schär took the top prize in the women’s event, sprinting the 400m stretch in 51 seconds.
Kenyan world record holder Brigid Kosgei wasn’t able to make it three in a row at this year’s event, after her compatriot Joyciline Jepkosgei won in 2:17.43 – smashing her previous PB of 2:18:40.
It promised to be a tight race, with a phenomenal field featuring eight women who have run inside 2:20, and that’s certainly what materialised – with the top three finishers all coming in within 2:19.
