World champion Peres Jepchirchir has withdrawn from this month’s London Marathon due to injury concerns.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion was diagnosed with a stress fracture after finishing second at the Valencia Marathon in December, a setback that delayed the start of her preparations for the race.
Jepchirchir, 32, said she only resumed training in late January but admitted she is not in peak condition to compete at the highest level.
“To be competitive at the London Marathon, you have to be at your top level, and despite my best efforts, I’m just short due to lack of training,” she said.
The Kenyan runner won the 2024 London Marathon in a women-only world record time of 2:16:16 but will now miss this year’s edition as she focuses on recovery.
Her withdrawal adds to the list of high-profile absentees, with reigning Olympic champion Sifan Hassan also pulling out earlier due to an Achilles injury.
