At the TCS London Marathon, Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir set a new women-only world record by finishing in 2:16:16. She claimed victory in the World Athletics Platinum Label road race on Sunday, beating her competitors Tigist Assefa, Joyciline Jepkosgei, and Megertu Alemu by 45 seconds.
The race started at a fast pace, with a lead pack of nine women crossing the 10km mark in just 31:26. By the halfway point at 1:07:04, the pack had narrowed down to seven runners. However, it wasn’t until around 18 miles into the race that Jepchirchir and her four competitors broke away from the rest of the field and ran together for most of the remaining distance.
In the final moments of the race, Alemu was left behind as Jepchirchir made her final move to secure victory. She crossed the finish line in an incredible time of 2:16:16, surpassing Mary Keitany’s previous record held for women only marathon runners. This marked Jepchirchir’s third win in a World Marathon Majors race.
Jepchirchir’s performance is subject to standard ratification procedures before it can be officially recognized as a world record. We will keep you updated on any developments regarding this historic achievement in marathon running.
