Major Controversy at Paris Olympics Unearthed as Tigst Asefa Took Gold Home at London Marathon

Picture this: Tigst Assefa, the Ethiopian marathon sensation, charged down the final stretch of the 2025 London Marathon, her legs a blur, her focus unbreakable. On April 27, 2025, she crossed the finish line in a jaw-dropping 2:15:50, shattering the women’s world record by 26 seconds, previously set by Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir in 2024. This wasn’t just a win—it was a statement.

Assefa, the 28-year-old former world record holder, left Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei (2:18:44) in her dust and relegated Olympic champion Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands to third (2:19:00). From her 2023 Berlin Marathon world record of 2:11:53 to her silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Assefa’s resume screams elite. But what made this London win so electric? It was the shadow of a heated rivalry that set the stage.

Flashback to August 11, 2024, at the Paris Olympics, where Assefa and Hassan clashed in a marathon finish that had fans on the edge of their seats. With 150 meters to go, the two were neck-and-neck, but things got physical. Hassan, trying to pass on the inside, traded elbows with Assefa, who appeared to block her path. Hassan surged ahead, clinching gold in an Olympic record time of 2:22:55, just three seconds ahead of Assefa’s silver-winning 2:22:58.

The Ethiopian team cried foul, protesting obstruction, but the Jury of Appeal dismissed it, ruling that Assefa’s actions were the issue. The incident sparked heated debate, with Assefa later suggesting the contact cost her the gold. So, how did this Olympic drama fuel the fire in London? Assefa’s London triumph felt like sweet redemption.

After the Paris controversy, where she was painted as the aggressor, she let her legs do the talking. The 2025 London Marathon? Yeah, that was shaping up to be an Olympic rematch we’d all been waiting for. You had Sifan Hassan, the champ, coming back to defend her crown, going head-to-head with Tigst Assefa, the woman who owns the second-fastest marathon time EVER. But Assefa’s victory wasn’t just about hitting the tape first…this felt like a statement, a straight-up answer after getting edged out back at the Olympics. You could feel the fire in this one.

London Marathon 2025 Prize Money 

Alright, let’s talk about the real score at the 2025 London Marathon, and I’m not just talking about the finish times! These races brought the heat performance-wise, but they also brought some serious cash to the table for the winners. Leading the charge on payday? That would be Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa and Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe. They weren’t just running for glory; they each snagged a cool $55,000 just for crossing the line first in their respective races.

But hold up, Assefa? She cleaned up. That mind-blowing 2:15:50? That didn’t just shatter the world record; it opened the vault! She tacked on an extra $150,000 just for dipping under that 2:16 mark, plus another $125,000 for the world record itself. We’re talking a total of $330,000 for one incredible afternoon’s work! Sawe wasn’t hurting either; his winning time of 2:02:27 earned him an additional $30,000 bonus for going sub-2:05:00, bumping his total haul to a very respectable $85,000.

As Sawe himself put it to the BBC, “I was well-prepared,” and yeah, his bank account reflected that preparation! And hey, the money wasn’t just for the top step. Second place wasn’t exactly chump change either, with Joyciline Jepkosgei and Jacob Kiplimo each banking $30,000. Sifan Hassan and Alexander Mutiso Munyao grabbed $22,500 for third. When you add it all up, between the main prize money and those time bonuses, the elite races alone dropped a whopping $621,000.

Big props to London, too, for keeping it fair—the prize money was the same whether you were in the able-bodied or wheelchair races. So, the question now is, with payouts like that on the line, how is this going to crank up the intensity for the marathons to come? You have to think athletes are eyeing London with a little extra sparkle in their eyes after this!

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