A Debut to Rewrite the Marathon

Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda has reclaimed the half-marathon world record that he held from 2021 to 2024 [File: Darko Vojinovic/AP Photo]

London is abuzz with anticipation as one of the richest men’s fields in marathon history lines up on April 27, 2025. Analysts have called this a “blockbuster showdown” with “one of the deepest and most intriguing elite fields” the London Marathon has ever seen. Amid Olympic champions and record holders, one name stands out for a very different reason: Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo. At 24, Kiplimo is stepping up to the marathon distance for the first time, and his presence has immediately shifted the narrative. Event director Hugh Brasher even labeled it “the most fascinating marathon debut ever” . The question on everyone’s mind is whether the Kenyan course can contain this new star’s blazing speed.

From Speed to Endurance

On the track and grass, Kiplimo already reads like a legend. He won four World Cross Country titles and earned bronze medals in the 10,000m at both the Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 World Championships. On the roads he has been just as devastating: in February he shattered the men’s half-marathon world record, clocking 56:42 in Barcelona – a full 48 seconds faster than the previous mark . (He had set the record once before with 57:31 in 2021.) That raw speed and fitness led some to wonder if Kiplimo could be the first to break two hours in the marathon. He has all the credentials of a future world-beater – but the marathon is a different beast, and London will be his first test at 26.2 miles. Can a champion in the 5K and 10K translate his pure speed to sustaining that pace over an Olympic-distance road race?

Away from the spotlight, Kiplimo has ramped up his training dramatically for this challenge. He told reporters he had increased his weekly mileage from about 120–150 km up into the 200–220 km range to prepare for London, and even did a 38 km long run in training His coach, Iacopo Brasi, takes a cautious line: he’s eager to see Kiplimo get a feel for the marathon rather than chase an all-out time. “Maybe 2:02 is possible,” Brasi said, but he stressed that without problems in preparation, “this is a test” – both of body and mind . In other words, London is about experience and adaptation as much as it is about a record. Kiplimo himself seems to agree. Despite the internet buzz about sub-two hours, he told media that his goal is simply “to run a good race” and perhaps a podium spot ( “I am not even targeting to run the fastest time,” he laughed on Press Day, insisting he’ll “run my own race, to run a good personal best” . In public he has downplayed the hype; privately his confidence shines through a smile, but anyone on that start line will need nerves of steel to keep up.

Jacob Kiplimo (Daniel Meumann for Sportmedia.es)

A Star-Studded Starter Line

Kiplimo’s debut doesn’t just add one more contender – it changes the whole storyline of this race. The usual suspects are here: Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge (the sport’s all-time great, 40, chasing a fifth London crown) and defending champion Alexander Mutiso (2:03:11 PB) headline alongside Olympic marathon champion Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia . Mutiso knows this course well, while Tola – fresh off wins in New York and Paris – is a proven tactician who could control things if the pace slackens . Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe, who last autumn ran the second-fastest marathon ever (2:02:05) in his debut, is another wild card. In fact, Sawe’s 2:02:05 is the fastest debut in history, a reminder of how young runners are rewriting the record books In the mix you’ll also find Berlin champ Milkesa Mengesha, former world silver medalist Timothy Kiplagat (2:02:55), and Dutch Olympian Abdi Nageeye (2:04:45) – a wall of depth few races have ever boasted

Even longtime fans have to pinch themselves: after Kenenisa Bekele’s late withdrawal, the much-hyped Kipchoge–Bekele showdown will not happen . Instead, the story is pivoting to Kiplimo. He and Sawe were neck-and-neck in last fall’s Copenhagen Half, and Sawe then beat him to Valencia’s marathon crown. Now Kiplimo enters the fray as an unbeaten marquee half-marathon champion (he’s won six of his last seven) and his generation’s fastest road runner . There’s no historical guarantee that translates to marathon success – many legends (even Bekele) had to learn the hard way at 42K – but his very presence raises the stakes. Can the Caribbean ocean of people lining the London streets witness the rise of the next great distance legend?

The Pressure and the Possibility

The excitement is electric but so is the tension. Fans have been scanning the weather and pacing schemes (the lead group is slated to hit halfway around 61:00 pace), trying to predict how Kiplimo will measure up. Racing a marathon is as much strategy as speed – even his coach has remarked that this debut is more about finding out how to run 26.2 than smashing a clock. Brasi noted, “we have to see if the pacemaker will pace well… then it depends on the athletes, if they push to the limit or if it’s tactical”. The greatest danger might be going out too fast under the pressure, a trap set by his own extraordinary fitness.

Behind the scenes, Kiplimo says he’s focused. He knows comparing to others won’t help. When asked if he’s gunning to break 2:00, he was quick to answer, “Not now” . On race morning, he simply wants to “be in the podium” – a nod that a medal in London would be a fairytale start to his marathon career. In press interviews he’s given credit to his training for bringing greater endurance: the base work for London “helped me [improve my half-marathon time]”, he admitted after Barcelona If that translation from 13.1 to 26.2 works out, he could rewrite the record books once more. But even if he leaves London just safely through the finish and smiling, his entry into the event already feels historic.

The build-up to race day has all the makings of a cinematic drama: a young champion versus the legends, unpredictability versus experience, raw speed versus marathon craft. Thousands of spectators along the Tower Bridge will soon be watching to see if Kiplimo can hang with the lead pack, or whether he tires early. Will he push the pace and shake up the race, or settle in and learn the ropes? Either way, his debut injects new life into the men’s field. As Kiplimo himself said with a grin, “I was just going there to run a good race” – but London is ready for the best race of his life so far, and maybe one for the ages.