Reigning champion Tigst Assefa is targeting a new women-only world record at the 2026 TCS London Marathon and believes she can beat the blistering 2:15:50 she set last year.
Assefa, from Ethiopia, revealed at the elite women’s pre-race press conference that her training this year had surpassed her preparation for the triumph in 2025 and she would be going out at world-record pace on Sunday 26 April.
“My training has gone well, it has been better, even, than my preparation last year, so I think it is possible to beat the record I set last year.
“If I am going to try to break the world record again, the pacemaking has to be important. I am expecting the time that the pacemakers will set for the half distance will be allowing me to run faster than the record last year.
“I’ve done a lot of endurance training and I’ve done a lot of speed training. Over the last three weeks I’ve been focusing more on the speed side of my preparation.”
