Elite men
The 2022 TCS London Marathon elite men's race
2022 elite men's field
- Born: 1 January 1990
Marathon best: 2:12:20, Kew Gardens (2021)
London Marathon record: 2021 – 18th (2:18:19)
Notes: Aadan made his major championships debut this summer when he placed 30th (2:17:34) at the 2022 European Championships in Munich. Previously he represented Great Britain at the World Half Marathon Championships and made the step up to the marathon distance in 2021 where he finished third at the British Marathon trials in Kew Gardens. He made his London Marathon debut later that year and finished in 18th place. - Born: 10 February 1989
Marathon best: 2:03:36, Rotterdam (2021)
London Marathon record: 2019 – 7th (2:07:03)
Other Abbott World Marathon Majors: Chicago: 2019 – 5th (2:06:14); Tokyo 2020 – 2nd (2:04:49)
Other major city marathons: Rotterdam: 2018 – 7th (2:10:46), 2021 – 1st (2:03:36), 2022 – 4th (2:05:23)
Marathons in major championships: Olympic Games: 2020 (2021) – 3rd (2:10:00); Worlds: 2022 – 3rd (2:06:48)
Notes: The European record holder for the marathon, Abdi has won two bronze medals in marathons at major global championships in the past 12 months. He finished third at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 and then repeated the feat at this summer’s World Championships in Oregon. His championship success is the culmination of years of progression at the 26.2-mile distance, which saw him finish in the top 10 of three Abbott World Marathon Majors in 11 months from April 2019 to March 2020. He is a training partner of Sir Mo Farah. - Born: 24 January 1991
Marathon best: 2:08:44, Oita (2022)
London Marathon record: N/A
Notes: Aiba ran a marathon PB of 2:08:44 to finish fifth at this year’s Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon in Japan. - Born: 15 April 1993
Marathon best: 2:03:51, Valencia (2019)
London Marathon record: N/A
Other Abbott World Marathon Majors: Boston: 2022 – 10th (2:09:16)
Other major city marathons: Valencia: 2019 – 1st (2:03:51), 2020 – DNF, 2021 – 7th (2:05:54)
Marathons in major championships: N/A
Notes: Atanaw was due to make his London Marathon debut at last year’s race but tested positive for Covid-19 days before the race. The Ethiopian returned to the Valencia Marathon instead, a race he won in 2019, where he finished seventh in 2:05:54. Hailing from Ethiopia's oldest city Mekele, Atanaw is one of the few marathoners from the Tigray region of Ethiopia, which is north of the capital city of Addis Ababa. - Born: 13 June 1982
Marathon best: 2:01:41, Berlin (2019)
London Marathon record: 2016 – 3rd (2:06:36), 2017 – 2nd (2:05:57), 2018 – 6th (2:08:53)
Other Abbott World Marathon Majors: Berlin: 2016 – 1st (2:03:03), 2017 – DNF, 2019 – 1st (2:01:41), 2021 – 3rd (2:06:47); Chicago: 2014 – 4th (2:05:51); New York: 2021 – 6th (2:12:52)
Other major city marathons: Dubai: 2017 – DNF; Paris: 2014 – 1st (2:05:04)
Marathons in major championships: N/A
Notes: Kenenisa Bekele is one of the greatest distance runners of all time. After a star-studded track career that saw him win three Olympic and five World Championship gold medals, Bekele moved up to the marathon where he is the second fastest athlete ever behind Eliud Kipchoge. He has a PB of 2:01:41, which he ran at the 2019 Berlin Marathon. He has won the Berlin Marathon on two occasions but has not yet succeeded on the streets of London, despite placing second in 2017 and third in 2018. Bekele has also won an incredible 11 gold medals at World Cross Country Championships and is a former 5000m and 10,000m world record holder. - Born: 6 December 1985
Marathon best: 2:18:10, Manchester (2022)
London Marathon record: 2011 – 3,630th (3:27:48), 2014 – 1,183th (2:58:33), 2016 – 523th (2:43:49), 2017 – 511th (2:43:50), 2018 – 563th (2:40:27), 2021 – 16th (2:20:25)
Notes: Bowker has taken huge chunks of his marathon PB in the past year. This will be his first time racing the London Marathon from the elite start. - Born: 17 June 1993
Marathon best: 2:16:50, Seville (2022)
London Marathon record: N/A
Notes: Braden took a big chunk off his marathon PB when he ran 2:16:50 in Seville in February this year. - Born: 10 October 1991
Marathon best: 2:18:16, Manchester (2022)
London Marathon record: N/A
Notes: Crehan is making his London Marathon debut after a PB at the Manchester Marathon in April. - Born: 5 February 1994
Marathon best: 2:09:15, Oita (2019)
London Marathon record: N/A
Notes: Futaoka represented Japan in the marathon at the 2019 World Championships in Doha where he finished 37th. - Born: 24 March 1994
Marathon best: 2:12:17, Rotterdam (2022)
London Marathon record: 2019 – 28th (2:17:26), 2021 – 12th (2:16:27)
Notes: Born in Eritrea, Ghebresilasie has been eligible to compete for Great Britain since 2021. He ran a PB of 2:12:17 to finish 10th in the Rotterdam Marathon in April this year. - Born: 24 October 1997
Marathon best: 2:13:45, Manchester (2022)
London Marathon record: N/A
Notes: Goddard finished fifth in the Manchester Marathon in April. - Born: 16 September 1992
Marathon best: 2:03:13, Tokyo (2022)
London Marathon record: N/A
Other Abbott World Marathon Majors: Tokyo: 2018 – 3rd (2:06:33), 2020 – 18th (2:08:00), 2022 – 2nd (2:03:13); Berlin: 2018 – 2nd (2:06:23)
Other major city marathons: Dubai: 2016 – DNF, 2017 – DNF; Rome: 2016 – 1st (2:08:12); Seoul: 2017 – 1st (2:05:54); Amsterdam: 2016 – 13th (2:09:08), 2017 – 5th (2:05:43); Prague: 2019 – 3rd (2:06:46); Valencia: 2020 – 4th (2:03:30)
Marathons in major championships: Worlds: 2019 – 3rd (2:10:51); Olympic Games: 2020 (2021) – DNF
Notes: Kipruto finished second at this year’s Tokyo Marathon, the first Abbott World Marathon Major of the year, in a personal best time of 2:03:13. The Kenyan won a bronze medal in the marathon at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and has victories to his name in marathons in Rome and Seoul. - Born: 25 September 1993
Marathon best: 2:15:31, London (2021)
London Marathon record: 2021 – 9th (2:15:31)
Notes: Leach has a 10,000m PB of 28:21:05 from 2019 and a half marathon PB of 62:57. - Born: 11 September 1994
Marathon best: 2:02:48, Berlin (2019)
London Marathon record: 2021 – 5th (2:06:10)
Other Abbott World Marathon Majors: Chicago: 2018 – 10th (2:08:41); Tokyo: 2019 – 1st (2:04:48), 2020 – 1st (2:04:15), Berlin: 2019 – 2nd (2:02:48); Boston: 2022 – DNF
Other major city marathons: Dubai 2018 – 6th (2:04:15); Valencia 2020 – 3rd (2:03:16)
Marathons in major championships: N/A
Notes: Legese is the third fastest marathoner in history and a two-time winner of the Tokyo Marathon (2019 and 2020). The Ethiopian’s personal best of 2:02:48 was set when he finished second behind countryman Kenenisa Bekele at the 2019 BMW Berlin Marathon, a time which propelled him to third in the all-time marathon rankings behind Bekele and Eliud Kipchoge. Born and raised in Woliso – around 100km southwest of Addis Ababa – the diminutive Ethiopian arrived on the distance-running scene by finishing second in the 2012 Great Ethiopian Run. He finished fifth at last year’s London Marathon. - Born: 12 December 1990
Marathon best: 2:03:36, Berlin (2019)
London Marathon record: 2016 – 7th (2:10:45), 2020 – 3rd (2:05:45), 2021 – 1st (2:04:01)
Other Abbott World Marathon Majors: Berlin 2016 – 4th (2:06:56), 2019 – 3rd (2:03:36); Chicago 2017 – 4th (2:11:01); Boston 2019 – 30th (2:22:08), 2022 – DNF; Tokyo 2020 – 3rd (2:04:51)
Other major city marathons: Frankfurt 2012 – 49th (2:28:14), 2015 – 1st (2:06:26); Warsaw 2013 – 1st (2:09:02); Eindhoven Marathon – 4th (2:09:44); Dubai 2015 – 5th (2:07:06), 2016 – 4th (2:05:16), 2017 – 3rd (2:08:04), 2018 – 5th (2:04:08); Vienna 2015 – 1st (2:07:31); Prague 2018 – 2nd (2:07:03); Ljubljana 2018 – 1st (2:04:58)
Marathons in major championships: Olympic Games: 2020 (2021) – DNF
Notes: The Ethiopian is a major marathon veteran with an impressive career record, with his win at the 2021 London Marathon being the stand-out result of his career. Lemma’s win came after he finished third in the 2020 London Marathon. He also finished third at the 2020 Tokyo Marathon. Lemma has also finished third (2019) and fourth (2016) in the Berlin Marathon and fourth in the Chicago Marathon (2017). In addition, he has marathon wins in Warsaw, Vienna, Frankfurt and Ljubljana under his belt. - Born: 26 May 1984
Marathon best: 2:08:04, Osaka (2022)
London Marathon record: N/A
Notes: 38-year-old Okamoto is in the best form of his career, running a marathon PB of 2:08:04 in Osaka in February. - Born: 12 January 1989
Marathon best: 2:16:56, Frankfurt (2018)
London Marathon record: 2017 – 63rd (2:27:38)
Notes: Payne is a UK-based athlete who ran for Thailand in the 2019 World Championships in Doha. His marathon PB of 2:16:56 is also a national record for Thailand. - Born: 19 December 1995
Marathon best: 2:11:06, London 2019
London Marathon record: 2019 – 12th (2:11:06)
Notes: Rayner is the Oceanic record holder for 10,000m (27:15:35). - Born: 8 May 1991
Marathon best: 2:10:55, London (2019)
London Marathon record: 2019 – 11th (2:10:55)
Notes: Robinson ran his personal best in London in 2019 and followed that up by being part of the pacemaking team for Eliud Kipchoge’s historic INEOS 1:59 project. He represented Australia in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics. - Born: 3 October 1992
Marathon best: 2:12:58, London (2021)
London Marathon record: 2021 – 7th (2:12:58)
Notes: Sesemann made a name for himself on his marathon debut at the 2021 London Marathon where he finished as the first British man and in seventh place overall in 2:12:58. He was also the first Brit home at this summer’s European Championships in 17th place (2:15:17). Sesemann is a junior doctor based in Leeds and has represented Great Britain on the track at the European Indoor Championships. He has a dog called Kipchoge. - Born: 21 July 1998
Marathon best: 2:19:37, Manchester (2022)
London Marathon record: N/A
Notes: Walker made his London Marathon debut after a PB at the Manchester Marathon this year. - Born: 28 May 1987
Marathon best: N/A
London Marathon record: N/A
Notes: One of Europe’s best 3,000m steeplechase athletes over the past decade, Yoann is making his marathon debut aged 35. The Frenchman was the European steeplechase champion in 2014 and was fifth in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games steeplechase final.