Elite men's press conference
Sebastian Sawe on racing in London after his stunning marathon debut in Valencia at the end of 2024
“Thank you to the organisers for inviting me to the TCS London Marathon this year. I am happy to be here. To my performance last year, in the Valencia Marathon, it was the happiest moment for me to run the fastest time that year, I was so excited.
“I trained well for the London Marathon this year. For me everything is OK, to wait for Sunday and just to start the race and see what will come.”
Jacob Kiplimo on making his much-anticipated marathon debut, after shattering the world half marathon record by 48 seconds in Barcelona earlier this year
“I am so grateful to be here for this year’s London Marathon. It will present a lot of challenges because the half marathon is not like the full marathon, but I have prepared myself well and hope on Sunday to do my best.
“I just want to run my own race, so that I can run my personal best.”
Tamirat Tola on becoming Olympic marathon champion in Paris in 2024
“I am happy to be the Olympic champion because it was my dream. My next is to come again to London with challengers like [Eliud] Kipchoge. This challenge of mine to again challenge myself, always to increase my ability. I am happy to participate again.”
Alex Mutiso, the defending TCS London Marathon champion, on running with the crowd behind him
“I am happy to be back in London for the second time and one of the memories for London Marathon last year is winning. It was my first major marathon, and I won; that is one of my memories I cannot forget.
“On Sunday I am happy to run with the greatest field, everyone knows about the field running and it will be epic running with the strongest field ever.
“One thing I learned about London Marathon was I was motivated when the crowd was cheering at me and I got courage from winning last year’s marathon, so I said I would keep on coming here, to try my best again.”
Eliud Kipchoge, four-time London Marathon champion, on his return to the capital and on London being ‘a movement’
“I am really excited for Sunday and I am happy to be back after that long. I am happy to run in the streets of London, one of the few streets where the Olympics has been done three times, so really excited to come back.
“London is the biggest marathon ever, I am coming here to support London’s good causes. It is about the charity events being done by London Marathon, that is why I am here. First of all, London Marathon is a movement by itself and I am supporting that movement, the movement of running a marathon.”
Kipchoge on what motivates him to keep competing and responding to disappointments in 2024
“It is about doing the action. That is why I am running. I am still hungry to inspire somebody, somewhere, I am still hungry to motivate somebody, somewhere. I am happy to train every day for races like Sunday, to showcase to people this is what I do.
“Last year was a tough year, but sport is built by challenges, by dedication. The proof of good sport is how and when you wake up, that is why I am here. I wake up from what happened last year and I am ready for Sunday.
Kipchoge on the influence of running shoe technology on the sport
“The world is changing very fast, what rules the world is technology, you cannot run away from technology in our lives. When the shoes came in, we had to move with the shoes.
“In sport technology has given us a higher bar but not really to run very fast. For recovery, the lightness of the shoe and above all to enjoy running. But the fact that people think technology shoes can make people run very fast, if you are not fit enough, you cannot run very fast.
“First is the fitness, if you are physically fit and mentally fit, then technology can run with you. But if you are not, there is no way technology can push you. We need to love technology, we need to move with technology, run with it and sleep with it and do all things with it. This is the world.”