The Swiss duo returned to the marathon to enjoy London victories again
Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner took victories at the TCS 2024 London Marathon this weekend (April 21), making it a double win for Switzerland.
This isn’t the first time the para athletes have claimed titles in London, with both holding the course records.
Hug celebrated his fourth win in a row while Debrunner got her second in three years, following her 2022 victory.
The “Silver Bullet” clocked 1:28:35 in London and led the pack most of the way. Hug began to break away from the leading group at the 20 mile mark, crossing the line with an imperious 31-second lead.
“It was tough out there,” he said. “I had to go very hard. I tried so many times to break away and finally I made it but I’m very happy. My competitors did very well, I tried to make them tired but they were very strong today.
“The conditions weren’t good enough to break another course record. It was a very technical race, slow and then fast so with those conditions I could not go any faster.”
Marcel Hug (LM Events)
The Paralympian won the men’s wheelchair race in Boston six days earlier in a course record of 75:33 despite crashing at one stage. Amazingly he was just seven seconds short of the world best despite the accident.
“I maybe did slow a little bit down on the corners,” he added. “I need a bit of a break now, because of my crash in Boston I still feel my chest hurt a little bit so hopefully that will help me.”
American Daniel Romanchuk, who won the title in 2019, finished second, improving on his fourth place finish in London last year.
Eight-time winner David Weir, now 44, finished behind the pair in third place, clocking 1:29:58. The Brit has had an incredible career, from winning seven Mini London Marathons to celebrating his 25th consecutive appearance and his 21st podium finish.
He finished in third place last week in Boston, six minutes behind Hug.
David Weir (LM Events)
“I just wanted to be on the podium, that was the aim,” said Weir. “To be with Marcel [Hug] until 20 miles was taking its toll on me. My body is still sore from last week but I’m just happy to be on the podium.
“To do back to back podiums is amazing. I’ve never done them before so that’s another tick off my list. I was thinking: ‘What other athletes have ever done that in any sport?’. I just feel like we need a bit more publicity and a platform for what we’ve done over the years.
“I never thought for my first one that I would do 25 years in a row. There have been periods where I didn’t think I’d turn up for some of them due to injuries but I always made sure that even if I did one race every year it would be that [London Marathon].
“It’s where I started and probably where I’ll finish. I don’t know when that will be but I’m happy training, I enjoy training and I’m still competing at the highest level. Once that goes I’ll then be able to hang up the gloves.”
“It was very hard, I tried so many times to break away and then finally I made it.”
Marcel Hug reflects on winning the @LondonMarathon men’s wheelchair race, his fourth win in a row💥
Hug clocked 1:28:35 in London, his own course record from last year is 1:23:44🇨🇭
🎙️… pic.twitter.com/sE8UuNXvcU
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) April 21, 2024