The 2026 London Marathon featured record-breaking finishes, including two sub-two-hour times by Sebastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha. Tigst Assefa set a new women's world record with a time of 2:15:41.
Key points
Sebastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha finished under two hours
Tigst Assefa set a new women's world record at 2:15:41
Assefa finished before the last wave of non-elite runners started
Celebrities like Cynthia Erivo and Tilly Ramsay participated
Mentioned in this story
Cynthia ErivoTilly Ramsay
Daddy PigSebastian SaweYomif KejelchaTigst Assefa
The London Marathonâs 2026 runners broke plenty of records. We had not one, but two, sub-two-hour finish times from winner Sebastian Sawe and runner-up Yomif Kejelcha, respectively â a feat not recorded under normal marathon conditions before.
Runner Tigst Assefa smashed her then-world-beating 2025 time with a new womenâs world record of 2:15:41, too.
Remarkably, that meant Assefa finished an entire marathon before the last wave of non-elite runners had even started the race.
But people donât just tune into the 26.2 mile race for the displays of athleticism. The London Marathon is also associated with star power, too, and this year was no different: Cynthia Erivo, Tilly Ramsay, and even Daddy Pig made an appearance.
Which begs the question: how did they get on?
Person proudly displaying a marathon medal, wearing a running vest and reflective sunglasses at a post-race event with other participants nearby
Itâs a new personal best for the actor, who announced the achievement on Instagram to praise from stars like Gigi Hadid and Gordon Ramsay.
Tilly Ramsay finished her first marathon in barely over four hours
Tilly Ramsay, whose family members, including dad Gordon, have previously taken part in triathlons, ran her first-ever marathon this year.
She finished in a great time of 4:01:26. Her father shared a post after the event which read, âSuch a proud dad today watching my little girl @tillyramsay run her first ever marathon!â
Alexandra Burke, Fern Brady, and Kitty Scott Claus also took part
Alexandra Burke, who finished the race in 4:25:03, said on Instagram, âI never take it for granted that Iâm able to move my body and do things that challenge me!â
She raised money for the Melissa Bell Foundation and Parkinsons UK.
Fern Brady, who was running her first-ever marathon and finished in 5:49:12, joked on Instagram: âThat was **** easy and at no point did I lose my grip on reality or believe I was crying hysterically and making a holy show of myself when in fact there was no tears coming out my eyes.â