Almost one year on from his first-place finish, today (Thursday 29 September) Sisay Lemma was at last able to celebrate his 2021 London Marathon victory with a special Champion’s Lunch at the elite athlete hotel in Windsor.

Joined by fellow Ethiopians, friends and other elite athletes taking part in the 2022 event on Sunday 2 October – including reigning women’s London Marathon champion Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) – Lemma received a special award and congratulations for his 2021 win at a feast of traditional Ethiopian cuisine.

Lemma was unable to celebrate his place at the top of the London Marathon podium last year as he had, at the time, been in close contact with a positive case of Covid-19. The Champion’s Lunch, held in his honour today, was therefore a unique opportunity for him to mark the stand-out result of his marathon career.

Speaking during the lunch, Lemma was filled with delight when reflecting on his 2021 win: “It was very important for me to win in London last year and it gave me great confidence. Obviously to win one of the Abbott World Marathon Majors is a big thing.

“I remember when I won last year and I lay on the ground – I experienced such joy and gratitude to the London Marathon, its organisers and the people of London.”

Marathon veteran Lemma was equally excited about the prospect of taking on the 2022 TCS London Marathon on Sunday – the fourth time he’ll cover the famous 26.2-mile route from Greenwich to The Mall.

Quietly confident, he said: “I’ve prepared even better than I did last year – my training has been as good as I could have hoped, and I feel very ready for this marathon. It is going to be a quick race.

“Will I win again this year? We’ll see on Sunday!”

Lemma’s strong shot at the 2022 TCS London Marathon follows a string of successes in the world of elite marathon running over the years.

He achieved his impressive PB of 2:03:36 at the 2019 Berlin Marathon – where the rain did not deter him – and he has also placed no lower than fourth at recent editions of the Tokyo Marathon and Chicago Marathon.

To top this, Lemma also has marathon wins in Warsaw, Vienna, Frankfurt and Ljubljana under his belt.

Now, Lemma is poised to take his place at the front of the 2022 TCS London Marathon Start Line, which he’ll share with other decorated marathon legends including Bashir Abdi (BEL), Birhanu Legese (ETH), Amos Kipruto (KEN) and the second-fastest marathon runner of all time, fellow countryman Kenenisa Bekele.

Let this year’s battle for the coveted elite men’s title commence.