Mens line-up for April 21 event includes Kenenisa Bekele and Tamirat Tola as womens field boasts world record-holder Tigist Assefa, Brigid Kosgei, Ruth Chepngetich, Peres Jepchirchir and Yalemzerf Yehualaw

After weeks of speculation, the line-ups for the TCS London Marathon on April 21 have been announced with Emile Cairess and Marc Scott heading the home challenge against mouth-watering international entries.

Cairess ran an Olympic qualifying time of 2:08:07 on his marathon debut in London last year and showed great form last month with a 60:01 half-marathon PB in Naples.

Two years ago Scott was on the podium at the World Indoor Championships after winning 3000m bronze but after shelving plans to run the Seville Marathon last month he is now making his debut at 26.2 miles in the British capital. The former Great North Run winner comes into the event with impressive PBs such as 27:10.41 for 10,000m and 60:39 for half-marathon too.

They are joined by Callum Hawkins, who has twice finished fourth at the World Championships and will be making his first appearance at the London Marathon since setting his PB of 2:08:14 at the 2019 event.

Also in the domestic mens line-up is Mahamed Mahamed, following his marathon debut of 2:08:40 in Valencia last month. All the athletes will be racing to earn a place in the British marathon team for Paris following the Team GB announcement of Phil Sesemann recently.

With Charlotte Purdue and Calli Hauger-Thackery already named in the British marathon team for the Olympics, they will not run in London. Instead the British field is led by Becky Briggs and Alice Wright, who both represented Britain in the marathon at the 2022 European Championships.

There be a world record attempt in the womens race, too, with Tigist Assefa expected to lead the charge to break womens-only world record of 2:17:01, which was set by Kenyas Mary Keitany in London in 2017. Assefa is a former 800m runner but the Ethiopian set an astounding womens world record of 2:11:53 in Berlin last autumn.

Also in the field are former world record-holder Brigid Kosgei, 2019 world champion Ruth Chepngetich, Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir and 2022 London winner Yalemzerf Yehualaw. This means three of the four fastest women in history are in the race.

In the mens race Cairess and Scott will be trying to keep up with Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia, the 2023 New York City Marathon and 2022 world champion, plus the veteran and legendary Kenenisa Bekele, the former world 5000m and 10,000m record-holder.

Bekele of course also set an M40 world record at the 2023 Valencia Marathon when he ran 2:04:19 aged 41.

Added to this are 2023 London runner-up Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya, the 2:02:55 runner Mosinet Geremew of Ethiopia and 2:03:11 man Alexander Mutiso Munyao of Kenya.

Hugh Brasher, event director of the TCS London Marathon, said: We are in a golden age of womens marathon running. When Paula Radcliffe ran her incredible world record of 2:15:25 at the 2003 London Marathon, we had to wait 16 years for Brigid Kosgei to beat it. But since then, a further four women have run faster than Paulas time including Tigist Assefa, who lowered the world record even further with her stunning run in Berlin last year. Despite this, the womens-only world record of 2:17:01, set by the great Mary Keitany here at the London Marathon in 2017, has amazingly stayed intact.

However, I suspect that with Assefa, Kosgei and the likes of Ruth Chepngetich, Peres Jepchirchir and Yalemzerf Yehualaw in the field and where a total of 10 women have run under 2:17:30, Keitanys world record is going to be under serious threat at the 2024 TCS London Marathon.

Elite women
Tigist ASSEFA (ETH, 2:11:53 WR)
Brigid KOSGEI (KEN, 2:14:04)
Ruth CHEPNGETICH (KEN, 2:14:18)
Tigist KETEMA (ETH, 2:16:07)
Almaz AYANA (ETH, 2:16:22)
Megertu ALEMU (ETH, 2:17:09)
Peres JEPCHIRCHIR (KEN, 2:17:16)
Joyciline JEPKOSGEI (KEN, 2:17:23)
Yalemzerf YEHUALAW (ETH, 2:17:23)
Sheila CHEPKIRUI (KEN, 2:17:29)
Tsige HAILESLASE (ETH, 2:22:10)
Susanna SULLIVAN (USA, 2:24:27)
Manon TRAPP (FRA, 2:25:48)
Becky BRIGGS (GBR, 2:29:04)
Alice WRIGHT (GBR, 2:29:08)
Anya CULLING (GBR, 2:34:45)
Rachel HODGKINSON (GBR, 2:34:46)
Helen GAUNT (GBR, 2:35:38)
Mhairi MACLENNAN (GBR, Debut)
Lucy REID (GBR, Debut)

Elite men
Kenenisa BEKELE (ETH, 2:01:41)
Mosinet GEREMEW (ETH, 2:02:55)
Alexander Mutiso MUNYAO (KEN, 2:03:11)
Tamirat TOLA (ETH, 2:03:39)
Dawit WOLDE (ETH, 2:03:48)
Kinde ATANAW (ETH, 2:03:51)
Leul GEBRESILASE (ETH, 2:04:02)
Geoffrey KAMWOROR (KEN, 2:04:23)
Seifu TURA (ETH, 2:04:29)
Daniel DO NASCIMENTO (BRA, 2:04:51)
Addisu GOBENA (ETH, 2:05:01)
Milkesa MENGESHA (ETH, 2:05:29)
Henok TESFAY (ERI, 2:07:12)
Emile CAIRESS (GBR, 2:08:07)
Callum HAWKINS (GBR, 2:08:14)
Hassan CHAHDI (FRA, 2:08:19)
Mahamed MAHAMED (GBR, 2:08:40)
Brian SHRADER (USA, 2:09:46)
Weynay GHEBRESILASIE (GBR, 2:09:50)
Andrew HEYES (GBR, 2:13:52)
Alexander LEPRETRE (GBR, 2:15:01)
Hiko Tonosa HASO (IRL, 2:15:01)
Norman SHREEVE (GBR, 2:16:17)
Alex MILNE (GBR, 2:16:30)
William MYCROFT (GBR, 2:17:02)
David BISHOP (GBR, 2:17:06)
Adam BOWDEN (GBR, 2:17:18)
Kieran WALKER (GBR, 2:17:30)
Alexander LAWRENCE (GBR, 2:17:41)
Daniel HAMILTON (GBR, 2:17:59)
Dominic JONES (GBR, 2:18:15)
Fraser STEWART (GBR, 2:18:34)
Tom FRITH (GBR, 2:18:35)
James HOAD (GBR, 2:18:38)
Ryan THOMSON (GBR, 2:18:46)
Martin HOARE (IRL, 2:18:57)
Charlie SANDISON (GBR, 2:19:22)
Paulos SURAFEL (GBR, No Time)
Daniel MATEIKO (KEN, No Time)
Jacob ALLEN (GBR, Debut)
Kieran CLEMENTS (GBR, Debut)
Marc SCOTT (GBR, Debut)
Sean TOBIN (IRL, Debut)