Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner stormed to a pair of dominant wins at the 2025 TCS London Marathon to cement their leads at the top of the AbbottWMM wheelchair series Leaderboards.
Hug made it seven victories in the UK capital to edge closer to David Weir’s record eight wins.
The reigning AbbottWMM series champion had Japan’s Tomoki Suzuki for company with the Tokyo champion just 11 seconds behind at the 30km point.
But the Silver Bullet applied the accelerator as he left London’s Docklands behind, and raced away to a 44-second win on The Mall to take a firm grip on the 2025 Majors series. Hug broke the tape in 1:25:25.
Dutchman Jetze Plat came third in 1:26:49.
“It was really tough, almost a time trial,” said Hug. “I got away very early and really enjoyed it, there was an amazing crowd. I knew he (Suzuki) was there. He was closer, then I had a little bit more of a gap, then he was closer again, but I’m really happy.”
Hug’s win caps a grueling week after winning Boston six days earlier then tackling London’s more technical course.
“The body was feeling OK. I recovered very well, I had good travel here and had some easy sessions to relax the body.
With Weir still leading the way for the most wins in London, Hug admitted he will return to chase more titles.
“Usually I don’t have numbers in my mind but I definitely want to come back to London because it’s such a great marathon. I just love wheelchair racing and training and wining is always a great motivation.”
Debrunner was on the same tough schedule as her compatriot, having taken second place behind Susannah Scaroni in Boston on Monday.
It was the American who posed the biggest challenge to the world record holder here, but Debrunner was free and clear by the 30km mark, and had almost four minutes of advantage as she crossed the finish line.
Her time of 1:34:18 was a huge new course record and only two seconds off her own world record.
“It feels unreal,” she said. “I never expected to be so quick in London but I was in really good shape, I felt amazing. I got into a good rhythm and had a good men’s group ahead of me which pushed me really well.
“Susannah and I had a really quick start but I tried to focus on my rhythm and not focus on my time, but I saw we were really close to the men as well which had never happened before.
On completing the quick turnaround between Boston and London, Debrunner admitted it had been a hard week.
“Boston was really tough and I think I need some time to think about it and process it,” she explained. “It was very intense and I am really proud how I managed it. I knew it would be key to rest as much as possible in between, but I did not expect to be that fast today. I learned a lot from two marathons in one week.”
