Eliud Kipchoge, at 40, Finishes 6th at the London Marathon in 02:05:25

In his 22nd marathon appearance, Eliud Kipchoge secured sixth place at the 2025 London Marathon, finishing with a time of 2:05:25.

Now 40 years old, Kipchoge claimed the top spot in the masters division but narrowly missed Kenenisa Bekele’s masters world record of 2:04:15, which was set in London last year.

The men’s race was won by Sabastian Sawe, clocking an impressive 2:02:27.

Jacob Kiplimo followed in second (2:03:37), and defending champion Alexander Mutiso Munyao rounded out the podium with a time of 2:04:20.

After a challenging 2024 season, Kipchoge’s performance in London showed strong signs of a comeback.

Last year, he struggled at the Tokyo Marathon, finishing 10th his lowest placement at a World Marathon Major and later had to drop out of the Paris Olympics marathon due to a waist injury.

At the London Marathon, Kipchoge showed poise early on, staying tucked behind the pacers and hitting the halfway point at 1:01:31, maintaining a 2:03:01 pace.

He briefly led after the pacemakers dropped out but started to lose contact with the leaders following a surge led by Sawe and Hillary Kipkoech.

Despite slipping back, Kipchoge never fully hit the wall.

At 30K, he sat in ninth place but managed to climb back up to finish sixth by the end.

Widely regarded as the greatest marathoner in history, Kipchoge’s career includes 11 World Marathon Major victories, two Olympic gold medals, and two world records.

He famously shattered the two-hour barrier at the Ineos 1:59 Challenge, running 1:59:40, though it was not officially recognized as a world record.

Kipchoge has a rich history with the London Marathon, winning the race four times (2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019). He last competed in London in 2020, finishing eighth on a difficult day.

Next up for Kipchoge is the Sydney Marathon on August 31, where he’ll race as the event enters its first year as part of the World Marathon Majors series.