Athletics-Chepngetich eyes new world record at London Marathon

(Reuters) - Women's marathon world record holder Ruth Chepngetich will race the London Marathon in April, the Kenyan said, adding that she expects a new record could be set in Britain's capital.

The 30-year-old Chepngetich set a new world record and became the first woman to run under two hours and 10 minutes with a winning time of 2:09:56 in Chicago. The previous world record was set by Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa in 2023 in Berlin.

Fellow Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir holds the women's-only marathon world record with a time of 2:16:16, set in the 2024 London Marathon. Unlike the Chicago Marathon, where women race alongside men, the London event features a separate elite women's race.

The three-times Chicago Marathon winner and 2019 world champion Chepngetich will face former London champion and Olympic champion Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands and defending champion Jepchirchir in London.

Three-times Olympic gold medallist Hassan won her marathon debut on the London course with a time of 2:18:33 in 2023, and Chepngetich believes the strong field in London could see a new world record set.

"London Marathon always brings together the best athletes in the world... Myself, Peres and the other women are strong, so it will be a competitive one," she said in a statement on Wednesday.

"I want to prepare as best as I can and we will see if we can lower Peres’s world record of 2:16:16 from last year. With the strength of the field, I think we can support each other and maybe the world record will fall.

"I didn't know (setting the world record in Chicago) was possible, but I came to realise that dreams can come true."

The London Marathon takes place on April 27.

(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)