British duo Charlotte Purdue and Jess Piasecki, plus Tigist Assefa (ETH), the 2022 BMW Berlin Marathon champion, have been forced to withdraw from the elite women’s race at the 2023 TCS London Marathon on Sunday 23 April due to injuries.

Purdue, the fourth-fastest British woman of all time over the marathon distance with a personal best (PB) of 2:23:26 set at the 2021 London Marathon, has suffered a pubic bone stress response. Piasecki is the second-fastest British woman ever over 26.2 miles (2:22:25) and was scheduled to make her London Marathon debut but has picked up a hamstring injury.

Assefa, who is the fifth-fastest woman in marathon history (2:15:37) and was also scheduled to make her London Marathon debut next month, has tendonitis.

Purdue, who also missed last year’s TCS London Marathon after falling ill days before the race, said: “I’m devastated that I can’t run in the TCS London Marathon again this year. It’s the race that I always look forward to most every year, so to miss out for a second year is really disappointing. But I will now focus on my recovery and look forward to getting myself fit and healthy as soon as possible.”

Sinead Diver (AUS) and Keira D’Amato (USA) have also had to withdraw from the elite women’s race due to injury, but the 2023 field is still packed with quality, including the world record holder Brigid Kosgei (KEN), the Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) and the defending TCS London Marathon champion Yalemzerf Yehualaw (ETH). There are also two mouthwatering debuts with Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan (NED) and Commonwealth Games 10,000m gold medallist Eilish McColgan (GBR) both racing for the first time over the marathon distance.

In the elite men’s field, Vincent Kipchumba (KEN), who was the London Marathon runner-up in both 2020 and 2021, has patellar tendinopathy in his knee and has had to withdraw.

The elite men’s race at the 2023 TCS London Marathon will be the first time in history that two men who have run inside two hours and two minutes will be together on the same Start Line, with Kenenisa Bekele (ETH), the second-fastest marathon man ever with a PB of 2:01:41, and Kelvin Kiptum (KEN), the winner of the 2022 Valencia Marathon and the fastest marathon debutant in history (2:01:53), both racing.

With Birhanu Legese (ETH, PB 2:02:48) and Mosinet Geremew (ETH, PB 2:02:55) also in the field, it means the 2023 TCS London Marathon will also have four of the five fastest men in marathon history on the Start Line. In addition, the defending champion Amos Kipruto (KEN) and world champion Tamirat Tola (ETH) will also return to London.