Will 'greatest' London Marathon line-ups break records?

Will records be broken? That is the big question before this year's London Marathon.

Race director Hugh Brasher declared the event's 45th edition had "the greatest elite fields in the history of the London Marathon" after a stellar line-up was announced in January.

Despite the late withdrawal of women's world record holder Ruth Chepngetich and 2024 champion Peres Jepchirchir, the women's race still features the second and third fastest athletes of all time.

That includes Sifan Hassan, one of four reigning Olympic and Paralympic marathon champions contesting this year's event, who returns for the first time since her remarkable comeback victory on debut in 2023.

Two of the five fastest men in history line up in the men's race, led by record four-time champion Eliud Kipchoge, while half marathon world record holder Jacob Kiplimo will make his eagerly anticipated debut over 26.2 miles.

Meanwhile, the elite wheelchair events feature Swiss athletes Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner - the world and course record holders.

So who will win - and will they secure a piece of history and a lucrative bonus?

A course record in the men's (2:01:25) or women's (2:16:16) elite fields is worth an additional $25,000 (£19,000), while anyone breaking a world record (2:00:35 men, 2:16:16 women) will receive $125,000 (£94,000).

In an elite men's race featuring 10 men to have run a marathon in under two hours and five minutes, could it be a debutant who steals the limelight?

Uganda's Kiplimo, 24, became the first person to run a half marathon in under 57 minutes in February, clocking 56:42 to shatter the previous mark by 48 seconds in Barcelona.

That performance has convinced many that he could become the first person to break the two-hour barrier in a competitive marathon, after Kipchoge proved that was possible in controlled conditions in 2019.

"I think it is going to be the most fascinating debut ever," said Brasher.

"Do I think he could be the athlete that runs under two hours? Yes. But let's see what happens on Sunday."

Speaking to BBC Sport, Kiplimo said: "I have seen a lot of people saying I will be the one to run under two hours. On Sunday, it is about how my body will feel.

"I will do my best. I can't say now, I have not yet felt the feelings for a marathon. Maybe, [I will know] when I am done with London on Sunday."

Kiplimo will be joined by distance-running great and two-time Olympic champion Kipchoge, whose official personal best stands at 2:01:09.

The Kenyan, who last raced in London when he earned his fourth victory in 2019, told BBC Sport he can "absolutely" win again - and believes a sub-two hour marathon "will not be far [away]".

"The only thing is for people to accept to try, dare to try and dare to entertain. I have shown them the way to make history. I think in the near future we will look at someone who is running under two hours," Kipchoge said.

The 40-year-old added he still had "some races to run" before the end of his career, adding: "I am still hungry to inspire someone somewhere. I am really motivated to train every day, to showcase and tell people to make this world a running world."

Reigning champion Alexander Mutiso Munyao, 28, said he was "happy running with the strongest field ever" as he prepares to defend his title, with Olympic champion Tamirat Tola and Sabastian Sawe - the fifth fastest man of all time - also present.

The late Kelvin Kiptum's 2023 men's course record is 2:01:25, while the Kenyan's world record stands at 2:00:35.

Despite the absences of Chepngetich and Jepchirchir, the sight of former world record holder Tigst Assefa and Hassan on the start line means hopes of a new women's record are far from over.

The elite women race separately in London, meaning the time to beat is Jepchirchir's 2024 London winning time of 2:16:16, which also stands as the women's-only world record. Both Assefa and Hassan have run faster than that.

Ethiopia's Assefa smashed the mixed world record in 2023 by running 2:11:53 in Berlin and has suggested similar could be possible this year.

"I did a half marathon in December and that was a test," she said.

"My preparation for this race is good and I feel like I'm in better shape than I was in Berlin."

Meanwhile, it is never dull when Hassan is involved.

The 32-year-old Dutch star won on her debut in London two years ago despite stopping at the roadside mid-race to stretch out a hip injury while her rivals ran away from her - and still ran 2:18:33.

Hassan achieved Olympic gold last summer in similarly dramatic fashion, appearing to fade from contention before battling past Assefa in a spectacular sprint finish to add to her bronze medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m on the track.

Her personal best of 2:13:44 - set at the 2023 Chicago Marathon - puts her third on the all-time list of fastest female marathoners and she spoke about wanting to break the 2:10 barrier earlier this year, something only Chepngetich has achieved.

Speaking on Friday, she added: "In the marathon, whether you like it or not you will push.

"Running the marathon teaches you to push.

"I will do my best. I am getting nervous - that is good. When I get nervous I do well."

In Emile Cairess' injury-enforced absence, Mahamed Mahamed and Philip Sesemann - respectively the third and fifth-fastest British marathon runners of all-time - will hope to shine.

The 27-year-old Mahamed, fourth behind Cairess last year, told BBC Sport: "As an athlete you always want to push to the next level. If a medal comes, it comes. On the day anything can happen."

There will be plenty of attention on Olympic and world triathlon champion Alex Yee as he makes his debut, while Jonny Mellor, Dewi Griffiths and Weynay Ghebresilasie have all run under 2:10.

Eilish McColgan makes her marathon debut after injury forced her to withdraw in 2023.

The Scot, 34, has mother Liz's personal best of 2:26:52 as a target, while Steph Twell's Scottish record is a fraction quicker at 2:26:40.

"I would love to break my mum's PB; the Scottish record is a touch quicker - they would be loose goals," McColgan told BBC Sport.

"I would love to be the top Brit home and be relatively competitive in what is one of the strongest women's fields in the history of marathon running."

She is joined on the elite start line by Charlotte Purdue, Rose Harvey and Phily Bowden, who have all previously run under 2:26.

Eight-time champion David Weir is one of six Britons in the elite wheelchair men's field, while Eden Rainbow-Cooper, who finished fourth in Monday's Boston Marathon, is joined by multiple Paralympic medallist and London debutant Sammi Kinghorn and Jade Jones-Hall in the women's wheelchair race.