The marathon crown has changed hands once again as Sunday’s London Marathon broke the world record with 59,830 finishers, capping a day that saw Sabastian Sawe become the first person to run under two hours.
On Monday, Guinness World Records revealed that this year’s race was record setting affair from the elite races to the general field, which also racked up dozens of honors as London dethroned New York as the top marathon with a total pushing toward 60,000.
“Sporting and marathon history was set at the 2026 TCS London Marathon, where Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha became the first athletes ever to run a sub-two-hour marathon under official race conditions and for the first time ever three women ran under 2 hours and 16 minutes in one race,” Hugh Brasher the CEO of London Marathon Events said. “To then break the record of the largest number of finishers in the history of marathons underlines the inspirational nature of the TCS London Marathon. We are incredibly proud to have set a new Guinness World Record.”
London’s new total put it above the New York City Marathon, which had 59,226 finishers last November. That figure could easily be topped by this year’s race after New York Road Runners said last month that more than 240,000 people applied to its general lottery. Just one percent of those hopefuls were admitted and they will join the event’s time qualifiers, guarantee entries and charity runners who will line up on November 1.
Meanwhile, Sunday’s London Marathon also collected 38 titles that were broken in 71 attempts on the course, according to Guinness.
Some of the records broken include: fastest marathon wearing a suit and dress shoes (male), fastest marathon in a firefighter’s uniform, longest scarf knitted while running a marathon, Fastest marathon dressed as a clown (female), fastest marathon dressed as a mythical creature (male) and fastest marathon in a two-person inflatable costume (female).
Tigst Assefa joined Sawe in the elite ranks with her own record after lowering her women-only mark from last year and clocked a 2:15:41 as she pulled away near the 35km mark and opened a comfortable lead to take the win.
Next year’s race could see even higher finisher totals after organizers confirmed last week that they are exploring plans to expand the 2027 marathon as a two day event that would host 100,000 participants.
Last month it was rumored that discussions were already underway to increase the size of the event, which has been referred to as the Double London Marathon internally.
This year’s race saw over 870,000 people apply within the United Kingdom applied and 264,000 international ballot entries with under two percent accepted.
A two-day event would allow significantly more people onto the streets of London and raise millions in additional funds for charity. And according to reports, the race would be held on April 24 and 25, 2027.
