After months of training, the time has come for runners to partake in yet another edition of the country’s most famous marathon, the TCS London Marathon.
More than 59,000 runners are taking part this year, in what is already a busy day for all those involved in the event’s 44th year. Spectators will see a huge variety of runners throughout, ranging from professional athletes and elite runners, to people raising money for charity dressed up as a giraffe (or almost anything else you could think of).
Some celebrities will also be braving the iconic 26.2-mile route, including ex-Arsenal and England captain Tony Adams, cycling royalty Dame Laura Kenny, Formula One legend Sebastian Vettel, and award-winning actors Cynthia Erivo and James Norton.
While the 2026 edition has only just kicked off, runners will be getting their applications ready for next year’s event, as this year saw a record 1.13 million applicants. The ballot for the 2027 London Marathon opened on the 24th of April and will remain open until 16:00 (BST) on the 1st of May.
London Marathon Prize Money
Much like any national event, there is some prize money involved for those elite runners. It is paid in dollars as it is part of the global Abbott World Marathon Majors series.
Here is a breakdown of the prize money, all of which have already been distributed.
During the marathon, 76 people will be attempting 73 different Guinness World Records. One of these includes Mark Goulder, who will attempt the fastest marathon blindfolded and tethered by a male, with a target time of 3:20:00.
One record that has already been broken, however, is the world record.
Popular streamer IShowSpeed took on the world’s fastest man Noah Lyles in a 50m race, with $100,000 on the line.
Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe, last year’s winner, has become the first man to run the distance in under two hours in an official race. Yes, that is right, he has finished a marathon in under two hours, setting an incredible time of 1:59:30.
With this great feat, Sawe has written himself into the history books. As well as this, he has earned himself a lovely bit of cash to go into his pocket. Winning the elite men’s race awarded Sawe $55,000 (around £41,000), and setting the world record has added on a further $125,000 (£92,000). As well as this, he set a course record, meaning an extra $25,000 (£18,000) will go into his wallet. He also completed the race in under 2:02, meaning an extra $150,000 (£110,000) was earned. This brings his total to just over $355,000 (£263,000).
After finishing, Sawe said: “I saw the time, and I was so excited. First of all, I want to thank the crowds. They helped a lot. You feel so happy and strong and pushing. What comes for me today is not for me alone, but all of us in London.”
For the women’s elite, Tigst Assefa has claimed victory for the second consecutive year, finishing in 2:15:41. This is nine seconds quicker than her winning time last year, which at the time was the women’s London Marathon record. So, she has broken her own record one year on.
While these times are absolutely insane, it is not all the London Marathon is about. The spectacle involves people coming together and raising money for all those important charities out there.
Last year, the event raised a record £87.3 million. According to organisers, this has brought the cumulative total of the event’s fundraising to £1.4 billion from the first race in 1981.
The UFC world was left stunned last weekend as Ilia Topuria suffered the very first defeat of his professional MMA career, losing via TKO against Justin Gaethje at the UFC Freedom 250 event in Washington D.C.
The ex-lightweight world champion was pulled out by his corner after the fourth round of the headlining event at the White House as he failed to recover from a devastating left-right combination from the veteran American that left him bloodied in the third.
Gaethje’s explosive display was full of hard-hitting punches plus knees and uppercuts. Topuria’s inability to deal with the constant physical beat down meant an upset occurred and the challenger snatched away the lightweight crown to become a first-time undisputed champion in the UFC.
Topuria, who has also held the belt at featherweight, now has to deal with a fight fallout and feeling which he has never experienced as a professional, which is responding to and coping with a loss.
Ilia Topuria’s Close Friend Opens Up About Fighter’s Reaction
Amber Searls via Imagn Images
In the days since the 31-year-old’s brutal defeat in the American capital, a close friend of his, Pablo Motos, has spoken out to reveal the kind of emotions the fighter is currently experiencing and what his current state of mind is.
Speaking on his ‘El Hormiguero’ chat show, Motos touched on a recent conversation he had with Topuria, stating: “We were talking about something we’re going to do this summer, making jokes, and then he said a phrase I loved.
A lot has been said about Topuria’s health after his war with Justin Gaethje, but a close friend probably knows best, and he’s spoken out.
“He looks at me with his eyes closed and says, ‘Champions, when we fall, we fall hard.’”
Motos then revealed what Topuria’s intentions are in the Octagon and how he wants to go about avenging his world title loss to Gaethje, saying: “They’re already looking toward the future. He was telling me, ‘I’d love to do the rematch in Spain with Gaethje.'”
What Next For Ilia Topuria
Topuria’s desire to jump into a rematch demonstrates that he is keen to rectify his shortcomings against his most recent opponent and reclaim his spot at the top of the lightweight division.
Topuria, who is of Georgian and Spanish descent, has not fought in Spain since the very early days of his professional MMA career, with his last bout in the country coming in a 2016 featherweight title triumph over Jhon Guarin at Mix Fight Events 28 in Valencia.
It remains to be seen what Gaethje intends to do moving forward after achieving his career-long dream of becoming an undisputed UFC champion at 37.
Should Topuria get his wish and get another crack at Gaethje in his home country, it would surely be one of the most anticipated UFC events of recent times.
Arsenal have placed an official bid to sign wonderkid Jeremy Monga from Leicester City, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
The Gunners have been linked with a move for the 16-year-old for some time now, with reports of an offer emerging as early as last month.
Monga, who has been compared to Ousmane Dembele and described as a ‘deadly’ finisher, is expected to leave the Foxes this summer following their relegation to League One, despite having broken into the first-team as a 15-year-old.
And Arsenal have shown the keenest interest in him, with talks progressing over the last few weeks between the Gunners and his representatives over a move to the Emirates Stadium.
Now, according to Romano, Arsenal have lodged an official bid to sign the 16-year-old winger. He tweeted: “Arsenal sent official bid to Leicester City to get Jeremy Monga deal done. 16-year-old winger keen on joining #AFC and deal moving quickly now with optimism to sign #LCFC talent, seen as huge prospect for the future.”
Newcastle were hoping to land the young talent, but while they were trying to lower his fee, the Reds stormed in to agree to his £34.6million release clause, and the deal is as good as done. When Muñoz will agree personal terms remains to be seen, given he is busy at the World Cup with Spain, but Liverpool will be confident of striking a deal, especially with a Spanish boss now in place.
Liverpool are not done there
Ken Blaze (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters)
It was unclear how bold Liverpool would be in this transfer window, given their huge spend and lack of return last summer, but the questions are now being answered. The Reds are already closing in on an exciting young talent in Muñoz, and that is only going to be the start of their business, according to a fresh report.
Football Insider claim Muñoz will be the first of five new signings this summer, with a central midfielder, centre-back, right-back and right-winger all required by Iraola.
The right-winger and centre-back signings will come as no surprise, given the exits of Ibrahima Konate and Mohamed Salah this summer. Meanwhile, many have called for more options in the middle of the park, while Conor Bradley battling his way back from a serious injury issue looks to be forcing the Reds to add more depth at right-back.
Muñoz can play on the right-wing, and he is a right-footer, but he has traditionally played on the left, liking to cut inside.
Shearer’s Reds warning
Speaking to Betfair last week, Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer warned that Liverpool need to recruit heavily in this summer’s transfer window. “Liverpool are going to have to go again in the transfer market,” he said. “Mohamed Salah’s gone, so they obviously need someone to replace him.
“They’ve also got Rio Ngumoha, who’s obviously a great talent, but for the future.So Liverpool need several players, I think, if they want to compete again at the very top. And certainly, in wide positions, they’re going to have to strengthen.
“I’m not surprised with who they’re being linked with, like Diomande and Barcola. I guess it’s only a matter of time before that, that would be the position that they announce.”
