Reigning Virgin Money London Marathon champions back for historic 2020 race
Defending champions Daniel Romanchuk and Manuela Schär lead the wheelchair fields for the historic elite-only races at the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday 4 October.
Romanchuk (USA) won the Boston, Virgin Money London, Bank of America Chicago and TCS New York marathons last year on his way to winning the Abbott World Marathon Majors Series XII title.
The only man to get the better of Romanchuk in the past 18 months is Marcel Hug (SUI) who beat the 22-year-old American at the 2019 Tokyo Marathon. Hug, a two-time Virgin Money London Marathon winner and the reigning BMW Berlin Marathon champion, will also be racing in London, as will eight-time London Marathon champion David Weir (GBR), who will be taking part in the event for the 21st time.
Also in the men’s field are the 2020 Tokyo Marathon champion Sho Watanabe (JAP) and the 2010 London Marathon champion Josh Cassidy (CAN).
In the women’s field, Schär (SUI) will be looking to continue an incredible run of success. The 35-year-old, who is the world record holder, is the owner of one of the greatest winning streaks in sport, winning nine Abbott World Marathon Major races in a row before missing the 2020 Tokyo Marathon in March.
Meanwhile, two-time London Marathon champion, British record holder and 2012 Paralympic silver medallist Shelly Woods makes her first return to the event in four years following the birth of her son, Leo.
Hugh Brasher, Event Director of the Virgin Money London Marathon, said: “This is an incredible line-up for what will be a unique Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday 4 October. Wheelchair racing on a closed-loop course around St James’s Park is an amazing spectacle and with the very best athletes on the planet coming to London to compete, it promises to be one we will never forget.”
