London Marathon 2024: World record-holder Tigst Assefa aiming for record time

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa (second from right) and Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir, Brigid Kosgei and Ruth Chepngetich will compete at the 2024 London Marathon

Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa says she is "here to win" her maiden London Marathon on Sunday.

Assefa, 27, is the women's world record-holder after completing the Berlin Marathon in two hours 11 minutes 53 seconds in September.

She is also aiming to beat the London Marathon women's only record of 2:17:01 set by Kenya's Mary Keitany in 2017.

"God will show how good I am, I have prepared very well and I am sure I can beat the course record," she said.

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Assefa will be competing against Kenya's trio of Brigid Kosgei, Ruth Chepngetich and Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir, and Ethiopia's 2022 London Marathon winner Yalemzerf Yehualaw.

Kosgei, Chepngetich and Assefa are three of the four fastest women over the distance in history, with two-time London Marathon winner Kosgei saying she is "happy" to return.

"I聽have聽been聽preparing聽well聽in聽Kenya聽and聽I聽am聽ready," she added.

Great Britain's Becky Briggs, Alice Wright, Anya Culling, Rachel Hodgkinson, Helen Gaunt, Mhairi Maclennan and Lucy Reid are also competing on Sunday.

Britain's Paula Radcliffe holds the record for the fastest woman to have completed the London Marathon, running 2:15:25 in 2003 but in a mixed race.

This Sunday, the women's marathon starts before the men's race and is therefore a separate race.