World record holder Ruth Chepng'etich aiming for historic performance at London Marathon

Women's marathon world record holder Ruth Chepng'etich 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 Chepng'etich 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 Chepng'etich 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.