TCS London Marathon marked 40th anniversary with first ever champion Gordon Perry being the official starter

The marathons are always viewed as one of the most inclusive events on the athletics calendar, providing athletes outside outside the Paralympics the best opportunity to earn sizeable prize money and coverage on mainstream TV.

This year’s race at the TCS London Marathon marked 40 years since the first wheelchair race took place in 1983, when Gordon Perry, then 28, won the inaugural race.

It’s fitting that Perry was the official starter in an event where the winners now gets £45k. With the overall prize pot being £250k, it’s a sign that attitudes to inclusivity and awareness have come a long way.

Marcel Hug is one athlete who has broken barriers on both in and out of competition.

? London Marathon Champion ?

Was there any ever doubt? Marcel Hug claims his fourth @LondonMarathon title and obliterates his own course record of 1:26:27 with 1:23:44 ?

Wins in Boston and London in less than a week ?

One of the greatest in history ?#LondonMarathon pic.twitter.com/q2g2Hkkilv

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) April 23, 2023

The least surprising winner of the TCS London Marathon on Sunday (April 23) was the ‘Swiss Bullet’, who smashed his own course record of 1:26:27 with an astonishing 1:23:44.

The fact his winning margin was over six minutes in London wasn’t a shock given he blitzed the field at last week’s Boston Marathon (April 17) by over ten minutes.

Hug, in winning his fourth title on the streets of the British capital, is re-writing the history books and gives the impression he’ll break course records every time he competes.

Eight-time champion David Weir finished fifth, ninth minutes and one second behind Hug.

At the pre-event press conferences, he told AW that, ahead of likely doing his 25th consecutive year of racing at the London Marathon in 2024, that the race has helped so much with publicity and drawn in sponsors.

Weir will turn 44 on June 9 and will be 45 if he competed in what would be an astonishing seventh Paralympics, in Paris next summer.

“My heart rate just won’t go up to the levels that it used to.”

A reflective @davidweir2012 on his fifth place finish in his 24th consecutive @LondonMarathon ?

He plans to come back next year for 25 ?

?️ @TimAdams76 #LondonMarathon pic.twitter.com/eeMLubF64w

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) April 23, 2023

After yet another London Marathon ticked off the list, he was in a reflective mood and was at his honest best about racing guys 20 years his junior and what the future holds.

“It’s just that my body can’t cope now with the pressure of the high speed,” he said. “My heart rate just won’t go up to that level anymore. I’ve got to sit down with my family and team and make a decision [on retirement]. I don’t want to say it’s the end because next year is a big one.

“Will it be worth going to the Paralympics and not medalling, we’ll see? I’m now going to Switzerland to race on the track for a bit as we’ve got no marathons now until the beginning of September.

On the impact of what coverage of the major marathon series has offered to him and others in the wheelchair races, he added: “We’ve had wheelchair racing promoted so much, not just with money but publicity and big sponsors. As we’re in the major marathons they’re seeing us on TV and without the marathon series we’d be way back.”

A dramatic finish in the women's wheelchair race!

But Australia's Madison de Rozario edges ahead of Manuela Schar and takes her second #LondonMarathon victory ?

Watch all the coverage LIVE now on @BBCOne & @BBCiPlayer: https://t.co/HTxLOtToij #BBCMarathon pic.twitter.com/7NY48QNbtv

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) April 23, 2023

A course record was also broken in the women’s race when Australia’s Madison de Rozario – the winner from the 2018 marathon – clocked 1:38:51. In doing so, she sprinted past last year’s winner and previous course record-holder Manuela Schär.

The gap of one second between de Rozario and Schär highlighted how close and dramatic the finish was as the packed crowd on The Mall were enthralled by the battle in the last 50m.

Above all, the fact that this year’s London Marathon was the richest in history and marked 40 years since wheelchair racing began, proved how far we’ve come in the past few decades.