Sifan Hassan has confirmed her withdrawal from the 2026 TCS London Marathon, citing an Achilles tendon injury sustained during a treadmill training session approximately six weeks ago. The Dutch athlete, who holds the Olympic marathon title from Paris 2024 and won the 2023 TCS London Marathon on her debut at the distance, had initially hoped the injury would settle in time for the 26 April race. After careful monitoring and consultation with medical staff, however, it became clear that her preparations were not progressing at the level she demands of herself. The decision to withdraw is a blow to what had been billed as the strongest women's field in marathon history.
Hassan's statement on the matter was characteristically measured. "After the incident, I hoped the injury would settle, but as training progressed, it became clear that I wasn't able to prepare at the level I expect from myself," she said. "I'm not ready to be at my best." The withdrawal reflects a longer-term view of her athletic career — having competed in three Abbott World Marathon Majors in 2025, including London, Sydney and New York, Hassan has opted to prioritise her recovery ahead of what promises to be another demanding season. She remains one of the most versatile distance runners in history, and the expectation is that she will return fully fit later in the year.
The news reshapes the complexion of the women's race considerably, though the field remains historically deep. The original announcement had billed this as the first marathon in history to feature four women with sub-2:15 personal bests, with Hassan's 2:13:44 making her one of the four fastest women ever to lace up a marathon shoe. With her absent, three of the top five fastest women in history will still contest the race: defending champion and women-only world record holder Tigist Assefa (2:11:53), Peres Jepchirchir (2:14:43), and Netsanet Gudeta Kebede (2:14:00, racing as Letesenbet Gidey). Hellen Obiri, the two-time Boston champion, also features.
The rivalry between Assefa and Jepchirchir lends the race its central narrative. The Ethiopian world record holder won last year's TCS London Marathon, while Jepchirchir — the reigning 2025 World Championships marathon champion — has now beaten Assefa in two major sprint finishes, at the 2024 London Marathon and at the Tokyo World Championships. Their head-to-head record across recent years is one of the great rivalries in women's distance running. Hassan's withdrawal means that encounter will not be complicated by the additional variable of the Dutch champion, but it does nothing to diminish the scale of the contest.
The absence of Hassan is undeniably unfortunate for the sport's spectators, who had been anticipating a potentially definitive clash between three athletes who have swapped major titles between themselves repeatedly over the past three years. Her Achilles concern serves as a reminder of the fine margins on which elite athletics operates — a training incident in a controlled gym environment was sufficient to derail months of meticulous preparation for one of the world's great sporting occasions. For London Marathon organisers, the women's field remains the strongest assembled for any marathon in history, and the race on 26 April will still offer a compelling and potentially record-threatening contest.