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London Marathon 2026 – live updates | London Marathon
Key events
Elite men’s wheelchair race: Marcel Hug and Leo Xingchuan have broken away and are leading the pack at around the 10km mark. David Weir is not far behind the pair.
Hug is the most greatest wheelchair marathoner in history and a win today would pull him level with Weir for most marathon wins in London.
Elite men’s race: The men are being introduced. Last year’s winner, Sabastian Sawe of Kenya, spoke to BBC Sport before making his way to the start line.
Not much pressure on me because I run my own race, and it is only the best moment to be here. To be here again and to be a defending champion.
Being unbeaten in races is something special even in my life because it is just me. I am unique.
I see [myself setting a new world record]. It is only a matter of time.
Here they go! And then right behind them … everyone else!
Elite women’s race: We are approaching the 30min mark in this race. The main contenders are still all keeping pace with the pacers. They should be pulling away soon.
World records: 76 people will be attempting 73 different Guinness World Records titles today.
Arnie Delstanche holds the record for fastest marathon in a full-body inflatable costume by a male and returns today in his full-body inflatable T-rex costume to improve his time of 4:07:46.
Mark Goulder will attempt the fastest marathon blindfolded and tethered by a male, with a target time of 3:20:00. His guide is his close friend Alex. Goulder’s attempt is inspired by his younger brother Bobby, who was diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease, a rare condition that causes progressive vision loss.
Simon Fannon will be one of the few who will want to run as slow as possible today as he hopes to knit the longest scarf while running the marathon. The minimum mark to beat is 3.7m and he has six hours to do it. He runs for the Huntington’s Disease Association after his mother’s diagnosis.
Do you know anyone attempting a world record? I want to hear about it so get in touch!
The UK’s leading end of life charity, Marie Curie, is the official charity of the 2026 London Marathon. Marie Curie aims to raise awareness and funds for terminal illness and are hoping to raise £2m.
Elite women’s race: Hellen Obiri is hoping to challenge Tigst Assefa, with the Kenyan making her London debut after consistently racing in New York and Boston, where they do not use pacers.
Elite women’s race: The women’s elite are being introduced on the start line. Tigst Assefa beat the world women’s-only marathon record with her run here in London last year and she returns as defending champion. The Ethiopian has also not been shy in saying that she will attempt her own world record.
Keep your eyes out for Eilish McColgan, who made her marathon debut last year in London and Jess Warner-Judd, who is returning to running after being diagnosed with epilepsy.
And off they go!
Elite women’s wheelchair race: Leading the way is the heavy favourite Catherine Debrunner but Vanessa Cristina de Souza and Manuela Schär are right behind her.
Elite women’s wheelchair race: Still unclear what happened but Rainbow-Cooper has just started the race, about five minutes after her competition. She was aiming for a podium spot today.
Elite women’s wheelchair race: We are just hearing that Great Britain’s Eden Rainbow-Cooper did not actually end up starting the race.
Elite wheelchair race: And they are off! Women on the left side of the course, men on the right.
Elite wheelchair race: It looked like we may have had a delay in the start of the race as Great Britain’s Eden Rainbow-Cooper had a puncture but because it was before the race – and not during – she was allowed help to switch in one of her spares.
Official starters: Great Britain’s four-time Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah returns to the London Marathon for the first time since retiring from athletics in 2024. Seen as the greatest British endurance athlete in history, Farah is also the British record holder for the marathon. He will be joined on the starter’s podium by Red Roses Rugby World Cup-winning star Ellie Kildunne, fresh off the back of England’s Six Nations game against Wales taking place the day before.
The pair will be the official starters for the elite wheelchair, elite women’s and elite men’s races, as well as the mass start, sending more than 59,000 participants on their way from Blackheath to the Mall.
The prodigious growth of running clubs, fuelled by young women, has seen the popularity of the London Marathon sky-rocket.
More than 1.1 million people entered the ballot for this year’s race – 750,000 more than four years ago. Notably, a third of those were in the 18-29 category, with female entrants making up the biggest percentage of those under 30.
The explosion in this new breed of running clubs or “crews” has been key to the boom. Unlike a traditional club, their emphasis isn’t usually on super-fast times but on being inclusive, enjoying a run and a chat, and a coffee afterwards.
And it is gen Z women who are embracing them most of all. According to Jenny Mannion, who founded the female-running group Runners and Stunners in 2023, it is because they are searching for different real-life experiences after the pandemic than millennials like her.
Read more from Sean Ingle below.
Preamble
After some incredible weather for the past seven days, the week in the capital is ending on a high note with the 2026 London Marathon.
The elite field is stacked, as always. On the men’s side, Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe is hoping to defend his title after a victory in 2025 with a time of 2:02:27. He faces tough competition against Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, the half marathon world record-holder and Ethiopia’s Deresa Geleta, who became the 20th fastest marathoner in history with a time of 2:03:27 at the 2024 Seville Marathon.
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa won the women’s title last year after a women-only world record time 2:15:50. Her consistency in major races across the year makes her a heavy favourite, but last years runner-up, Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei, is aiming to do one better.
Switzerland’s Marcel Hug is the greatest marathon wheelchair racer in history. The three-time Paralympic marathon champion has won more Abbott World Marathon Majors than anyone else in history with 42 and a win today would pull him level with David Weir as the most successful athlete in London Marathon history.
The women’s wheelchair record holder, Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner, is not just aiming for the title, which she won last year, but the world record, which she missed by just two seconds in 2025. At the 2024 Paris Paralympics she won a five gold medals in the 400m, 800m, 1,500m, 5,000m and marathon distances.
After the start of the elite races, nearly 60,000 will then head off and have at the 26.2 miles (42.195 km) across the capital.
As always, send me your thoughts, predictions, questions and comments. Do you know anyone racing today? Are you gearing up to take the London streets? I want to know so send me an email!
Elite men’s and women’s wheelchair race – 8.50am (all times BST)
Elite women’s race – 9.05am
Elite men’s race and mass start – 9.35am
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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