Assefa beat Peres Jepchirchir’s previous record of 2:16:16, which she recorded 12 months ago, finishing in indomitable fashion on The Mall.
The Ethiopian dropped clues she would run a fast time at the pre-race press conference on Friday when she claimed to be in better shape than in 2023 when she set a world record at the Berlin Marathon.
After two runner-up places in 2024 – when she lost out to Jepchirchir in London and Sifan Hassan at the Paris Olympics – she promised there would be no sprint finish today. And she was true to her word, putting in a performance that proved too fast for the rest of the world-class field to live with.
Assefa’s sizzling speed matched the London weather as she dictated the pace throughout, going through the first 5K in 15:34, on sub-2:12 pace, with Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei, Hassan of the Netherlands and Ethiopia’s Megertu Alemu, tucked in behind two pacers.
At 10K, the lead group of four were on schedule to run more than four minutes inside the women-only record, and they stayed together until halfway when the relentless pace started to take its toll, Alemu dropping off dramatically and Hassan struggling to hold on.
Now out on their own, Assefa and Jepkosgei went through halfway in 66:40 – well ahead of their 67:30 target – and 10 seconds ahead of Hassan. For the next 15K, the pair stayed together, taking it in turns to lead and ticking off the miles as the Dutch legend repeatedly dropped back through the twists and turns of Canary Wharf before recovering to regain touch at 25K when she was just 26 seconds behind the leading pair, who went through in 1:19:14.
But the speed set by Assafa was too hot to handle. At 30K Hassan was more than a minute behind and after passing 35K, Assefa made her move, pulling away from Jepkosgei to create a gap of more than a minute at 40K in 2:08:47.
Boosted by the Embankment, she lifted her pace again and turned into Parliament Square before closing in on the record.
Safe in the knowledge she’d avoided a sprint finish, Assefa cruised past Buckingham Palace to savour the moment and cross the world-famous Finish Line on The Mall.
The tiring Jepkosgei was second in 2:18:44, just holding off Hassan, who crossed the line in 2:19:00.
“I’m really happy to win and break the [women-only] world record today,” said Assefa. “I've worked really hard for this.
“The conditions were really good, as there was no wind. The pacemakers really pushed the pace early on, which suited me.
“I was pleased with my silver medal [at the Paris Olympic marathon], but today means so much to me to be here in London. It means so much to win the race and break the world record.”
Runner-up Jepkosgei said: “The last few kilometres were very tough in the heat. The plan was to make the first lap the quickest, and go from there. I’m very happy to finish on the podium.”
After her success at the Paris Olympics last summer, Hassan, the 2023 London champion in such dramatic circumstances, was disappointed with third, saying: “[I had a] very strange feeling out on the course. I'm in very good shape, but I found it really hard to breathe. I need some rest, my body needs recovery.
“Every time I thought I could close the gap, my breathing got harder, and the gap just got bigger. They worked really hard to get rid of me.”
Eilish McColgan was the top British finisher, crossing the line eighth in 2:24:25. She ran much of the race alone, having dropped off the second pace group early on.
Her marathon debut did not entirely go to plan, but she secured a Scottish marathon record, beating Steph Twell’s 2019 mark of 2:26:40 in Frankfurt, and eclipsing her mother, Liz’s, best London Marathon time.
“The reality [of the London Marathon] was more amazing than I could ever have imagined,” said McColgan afterwards.
“I broke the family record and the Scottish record, but there were a few times out there that I didn't think I had it in me. I was anxious about drink stations, but that was very smooth this year.”
McColgan’s fellow Brit, Rose Harvey, finished ninth in 2:25:01.