London Marathon 2023: Marcel Hug & Madison de Rozario win wheelchair races
- Published
Marcel Hug celebrates winning the men's wheelchair race
Switzerland's Marcel Hug knocked 50 seconds off his own course record to win a third consecutive London Marathon title - and fifth in total.
Hug, 37, finished in one hour 23 minutes 48 seconds, well ahead of the Netherlands' Jetze Plat in second.
Britain's David Weir, 43, finished his 24th London Marathon in fifth.
Australia's Madison de Rozario held off Manuela Schar of Switzerland in a sprint finish to win the women's wheelchair race for a second time.
Hug's victory came just six days after he won the Boston Marathon.
"I have got a new chair and I was involved in developing it, but it took a long time to get it right and to adapt," he told BBC TV.
"The weather conditions were difficult for us all but the crowd the whole way round gave me so much energy.
"When I broke away from the group it was just about trying to go as fast as I could. It all went perfectly for me."
The four women's favourites made it on the Mall together before De Rozario and Schar pulled away.
De Rozario won in 1:38:52 with defending champion Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland in third and the United States' Susannah Scaroni fourth..
Eden Rainbow-Cooper, 21, who was third in 2022, was the first Briton home in seventh.
"I had to pull out last year and it was devastating for me," said De Rozario. "Just to cross the finish line was really special.
"That was an intimidating field because the three women I was pushing with are so strong. They have been dominant for such a long time, so to come out on top was just amazing."
The event returned to its traditional April date in the calendar for the first time since 2019 after being moved during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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