London Marathon 2026 — X18-39: Montgomery dominates while the midpack wages war

• Ryan Montgomery won the X18-39 age group in 2:27:53 (5:38/mi), holding 1st place from gun to tape and posting the fastest 5K→10K split in the group.
• Kester Antiquina ran a composed 2nd-place race in 3:02:36, never leaving the runner-up spot and clocking the 2nd-fastest 5K→10K split — finishing 34:43 behind the winner.
• Anthony Delorenzo (3rd, 3:22:18) and Fernando Santonja Renedo (4th, 3:23:54) were separated by just 1:36 at the line, with Delorenzo surging to the 3rd-fastest 30K→35K split and Santonja Renedo countering with the 5th-fastest 20K→Half split — a battle of specialists that nearly converged.
• Places 6–7 were decided by a mere 20 seconds: Jacopo Moscioni (6th, 3:30:28) and Kirsty Longman (7th, 3:30:48) both averaged 8:02/mi, with Moscioni holding on by the slimmest of margins.

Ryan Montgomery turned the X18-39 age group into a one-man time trial. Running 5:38/mi across 26.2 miles in cool, breezy London conditions, he led from the very first checkpoint and never once yielded that position, finishing in 2:27:53. The fastest 5K→10K split in the group was his as well — a sign that he went out with intent and simply never let up. Kester Antiquina was similarly unflinching in 2nd, running 3:02:36 at 6:58/mi and matching Montgomery's positional consistency with his own 2nd-fastest 5K→10K split. The gap between them — nearly 35 minutes — tells the story of a race where the top two were in entirely different contests.

The real drama unfolded behind them. Anthony Delorenzo started the race down in 9th place among the men and climbed steadily, cracking the top five by 35K on the back of the 3rd-fastest 30K→35K split in the group. Fernando Santonja Renedo was even further back at the gun — 13th — and made the most aggressive climb of the day, reaching 6th by the finish on the strength of the 5th-fastest 20K→Half split. Both men ran themselves into the podium conversation, but Delorenzo's late surge proved decisive: 3:22:18 to Santonja Renedo's 3:23:54, a gap of 1:36 after more than three hours of racing.

Andrii Kogut (5th, 3:30:01) rounded out the top five at 8:01/mi, just 27 seconds ahead of Jacopo Moscioni (6th, 3:30:28) and 47 seconds ahead of Kirsty Longman (7th, 3:30:48). Among the 39 finishers in this age group, the stretch from 5th to 7th was covered in under a minute — a cluster that likely felt the 14 mph wind most acutely in those final miles. Izzy Baulk came home 8th in 3:35:44, with Amy Seaman 9th in 3:43:31 and Albaro Castro 10th in 3:49:42 rounding out a competitive top ten.