Press Release - London Marathon - 9/28/20

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

  Elite athletes start to arrive for 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon

Eliud Kipchoge, Kenenisa Bekele, Brigid Kosgei and Ruth Chepngetich were 
among the first group of athletes and coaches to arrive at the biosecure 
hotel bubble today (Monday) with just six days to go to the 2020 Virgin 
Money London Marathon on Sunday 4 October.

The athletes and support staff have spent the day settling in and relaxing 
after the overnight flight.

Valentijn Trouw, manager of defending champion and world record holder 
Eliud Kipchoge, said: "It's great to be here and the facilities inside the 
athlete bubble are excellent.

"It's almost exactly a year since Eliud's last race in Vienna when he 
became the first man to run a sub two hour marathon. That's a very long 
time to wait to race again and we are all counting the days until Sunday."

Twitter: Welcome to London!

All athletes and support staff are being tested for Covid-19 at home four 
days before arriving at the biosecure hotel bubble and tested again on 
their day of arrival.

Spencer Barden, Elite Athlete Manager for the Virgin Money London Marathon, 
said: "After months of planning and preparation, we were delighted to 
welcome more than 40 athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, USA, 
Canada, Mexico and Australia to the bubble today. The excitement is really 
building now."

                                    ###