Catherine Debrunner edges Tatyana McFadden in thrilling wheelchair race to make it three in a row at TCS London Marathon
This was Debrunner’s third consecutive win in London but she was pushed all the way by the US racer, who was the world’s best over the marathon distance during the early to mid-2010s.
Debrunner and McFadden traded the lead in what seemed a never-ending game of cat and mouse until the Swiss made her move past Buckingham Palace with McFadden unable to match the sprint and losing out by an agonising five seconds.
McFadden crossed the line in 1:38:34 with the Swiss great Manuela Schär third in 1:41:21, who started brightly but dropped off at the halfway point.
Reacting to her win, Debrunner said: “It was quite a different race than I expected. It was very tactical at the end.
“I struggled because my Garmin [watch] didn’t work and I had no idea where I was and what speed I was doing but you need to be flexible and to adapt in wheelchair racing.
“Winning once is much easier than defending a title. But I trust my body and I know how hard I can go. Every victory is very special and it’s a very competitive field at the moment.”
Debrunner, 31, finished second at the Boston Marathon on Monday, losing out to Britain’s Eden-Rainbow Cooper, but was quickly into the groove on the London course that is better suited to her.
The Swiss racer went through halfway in 47:17 with McFadden sitting close behind, determined to stick it out until The Mall as she hunted for her first World Major since 2021.
McFadden, who claimed four consecutive wins here between 2013 and 2016, used all her experience to give herself a shot at what would’ve been a stunning win but had to make do with second on the podium.
It was a frustrating race for Rainbow-Cooper, after the highs of her Boston triumph and podium finishes at the Sydney Marathon and Berlin Marathon in 2025.
A pre-race tyre issue forced the 24-year-old to start after the other athletes and she finished 11th in 1:51:12.
“I’m so disappointed and feeling a lot of emotion right now,” Rainbow-Cooper said.
“My valve snapped on the way in, and I didn’t have a spare one: lesson learned. I missed the start completely. I had to do all of the race on one half-flat tyre which is far from ideal.”
