BMX silver medallist starting mass event as part of The Trust’s anniversary celebrations
Olympic silver medallist Kye Whyte will start the 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon as part of The London Marathon Charitable Trust’s 40th anniversary celebrations. Whyte, who won a silver in the BMX racing in Tokyo, learned his skills at Peckham BMX Club, which was awarded £75,000 by The London Marathon Charitable Trust (The Trust) to build a new track in 2014. Today the track in Burgess Park sees hundreds of children enjoy BMX racing, hoping to emulate their home-town hero. As an added bonus for participants, there will be the chance to see Kye and some of the youngsters from Peckham BMX demonstrating their skills within the Start venue.
Inspiring activity across the UK
The London Marathon Charitable Trust was created by London Marathon founders Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981 to distribute the profits of the London Marathon and all other events organised by London Marathon Events.
Its aim is to Inspire Activity and since 1981 The Trust has delivered grants of more than £93 million to in excess of 1,490 projects across London and the whole of the UK that inspire activity, like the Peckham BMX Club.
Paralympic legend Hannah Cockroft to start elite wheelchair race
The wheelchair race will be started by Hannah Cockroft, who cemented her status as a Paralympic legend after winning her sixth and seventh gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games this summer. She won gold in the 100m and 800m T34, adding to her previous five golds from London 2012 and Rio 2016. She is also a former winner of the Virgin Money Giving Mini London Marathon.
Elite women to be set off by former champion Liz McColgan
Getting the 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon Elite Women’s field underway will be former London Marathon winner, 1991 10,000m World Champion and Olympic silver medallist, Liz McColgan.
McColgan won the elite women’s London Marathon in 1996 and returns this year in the mass event for the first time since 2007. Her daughter Eilish, the fastest British woman over 5000m in history, will be pacemaker in the elite women’s race.
British sporting superstars
Kye Whyte was the first British athlete to win a BMX medal with his outstanding silver, and he learnt his sport at Peckham BMX, which The London Marathon Charitable Trust is proud to have funded.
“Hannah Cockroft is a seven-time Paralympic gold medallist and a former Mini London Marathon winner and it’s wonderful that Liz McColgan, the 1996 winner, is setting the elite women on their way, with her daughter Eilish among the pacers.”
This year’s starters in Royal company!
The Virgin Money London Marathon returns to the streets of London for the first time in 889 days on Sunday 3 October. The last time the mass event was held in the capital was in April 2019 when another British sporting superstar, Sir Andy Murray, pressed the famous red button to get the event under way.
The official starters over the years have also included Her Majesty The Queen in 2018, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, five-time Olympic champion Sir Steve Redgrave and double Olympic champions Helen Glover and Heather Stanning.