This is the heroic man who foiled Youth Demand’s plot to ruin the London Marathon by leaping off a motorbike and dragging two protesters to the ground after they disrupted the men’s elite race.
The mystery man, wearing trendy aviator sunglasses and bright running shoes, made the quick intervention after protesters Willow Holland and Cristy North stormed onto Tower Bridge and threw bright red power into the air in front of the elite runners.
He was on the back of one of two motorbikes carrying London Marathon event staff and camera crews filming the runners behind them.
In a dramatic moment caught from the crowd, the two protesters jumped over the crowd barrier and walked out into the road in front of the oncoming motorbikes and a large van.
The motorcyclist was forced to come to an immediate halt as the activists threw red powder across the road just yards ahead of them.
Then without hesitation, the pillion passenger jumped straight off, put his arms around each of the protesters and dragged them out the way of the elite runners coming through.
The hero, who police confirmed was a London Marathon event staff member, continued to push them back towards the crowd before he was eventually assisted by scrambling police officers.
At least eight Metropolitan Police officers scaled over the fencing and detained the pair as they continued to throw the powder in the air. Both have been arrested and remain in police custody.
The elite runners coming through were forced to avoid the commotion, which is the latest stunt to frustrate the nation.
Youth Demand, an offshoot of Just Stop Oil, are a protest group who have vowed to ‘shut down’ London this summer. The group is made up of Just Stop Oil alumni, students and Gen Z activists.
Their latest demonstration took place in the middle of the men’s elite race, in which the likes of Eliud Kipchoge, known as the greatest marathon runner of all time, were competing.
More than 56,000 participants are set to take part in this year’s London Marathon – including celebrities and MPs as well as the 87 runners, many in fancy dress, looking to break world records.
Sharing footage of the protest, they wrote: ‘At 10:30am, Willow and Cristy jumped the barriers at Tower Bridge and sat down in front of the men’s elite race at the London Marathon, wearing ‘Stop Arming Israel’ t-shirts. Gaza is running out of food. Arming genocide crosses the line.’
Before taking action, Willow, 18, from Bristol said: ‘I am taking action with Youth Demand because I have run out of other options: thousands are being killed in Gaza, our government is making no effort to stop it and no other course of action, marches or rallies, has worked.
While Brits rejoiced at Just Stop Oil announcing they would stop staging protests, their youth-wing have vowed to bring London to a standstill this summer.
Youth Demand are an environmental and pro-Palestine protest group made up of JSO alumni, students and Gen Z activists.
Their demands from the Government are to ‘stop all trade with Israel’ and ‘make the super rich and fossil fuel elite pay damages to communities and countries harmed by fossil fuel burnings’.
They say that until those demands are met, ‘we will be in nonviolent resistance against this rigged political system and the people with blood on their hands’.
‘I refuse to be complicit in a genocide funded by our politicians. Profit should never be prioritised over basic decency, we’re taking action for human lives and human rights.
‘We don’t want blood on our hands, we don’t want to be forced into complicity with a genocide.
‘We need more people in resistance, refusing to be complicit whilst upholding international law, now more than ever.’
Meanwhile, Cristy, a live-in carer from Nottingham, said: ‘I’m taking action today at the London marathon because the people in Palestine are running out of time. We have tried all other avenues to get the government to stop arming Israel and yet our government is still enabling a genocide.
‘They are making the UK people complicit in breaking UK domestic law by using our taxes to arm a genocidal state, breaking humanitarian international law.
‘I absolutely refuse to be complicit with it in any way, and I’m disgusted at this government’s inaction, and the absolute absurdity of politicians completely ignoring international laws. This is absolutely urgent, and this is why I’m taking part in civil disobedience.’
Cristy was among the Youth Demand protesters who laid child-sized ‘body bags’ outside Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s door earlier this month to represent the children who have been killed in Gaza.
The BBC TV feed did not show the Youth Demand marathon stunt, which did not appear to have a major impact on the race.
A Met Police spokesperson said: ‘At around 10:38hrs, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint onto the road.
‘A member of London Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed moments later.
‘He was quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance. They remain in custody.
‘The paint appears to be chalk-based and is not expected to present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point.’
The elite men’s race was eventually won by Kenyan Sebastian Sawe, who bettered the great Eliud Kipchoge who was bidding to win a fifth London Marathon.
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa comfortably won the women’s elite race, shattering the women’s-only world record in the process.
A record 56,000 runners are set to make the gruelling journey through London on a sunny day in the capital, with temperatures of up to 22C.
London could set a new record for the world’s biggest marathon which is currently held by the TCS New York Marathon in November when there were 55,646 finishers.
Around 55.3 per cent of registered participants of the UK race are male, with some 44.5 per cent female and 0.15 per cent non-binary.
But this year’s marathon comes just days after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling which ruled that a woman should be defined by biological sex in the Equality Act.
Despite the clear ruling, race organisers earlier this week confirmed trans women will still be allowed to run in the London Marathon as females – in a move which has been condemned by former Olympians Sharron Davies and Mara Yamauchi.
Race director Hugh Brasher, whose father Chris co-founded the marathon in 1981, confirmed that those taking part in the mass marathon event would be allowed to self identify as male, female or non-binary.
Transgender women are not however eligible to enter the elite, championship or good-for-age female races, as per rules set by World Athletics.
In 2023, Glenique Frank, who was born male but identifies as a woman, sparked controversy after competing in marathons in New York and Tokyo as a man – but just weeks later was permitted to enter the London Marathon mass event as a woman.
The decision to allow trans women to compete in the main race has been criticised by Olympic swimming heroine, Ms Davies, who has long campaigned to keep women’s sport for biological women.
Speaking exclusively to The Mail on Sunday, Ms Davies, who swam at three Olympics and won silver in Moscow in 1980, said the Supreme Court and EHRC had ‘made it very clear’ that organisations did ‘not need to wait for further guidance’.
‘With that in mind,’ she said, ‘I’m very disappointed that yet again, against the law, the London Marathon has prioritised males over females in the women’s category.
‘At every ability and level, women and girls deserve fair and safe sport.
‘I hope the London Marathon are held to account for their anti-women stance.’
Last night, Mr Brasher insisted trans women would be allowed to run as females.
He said: ‘The mass participation event at the London Marathon is not a race where participants compete against each other. It is a personal challenge.’
That provoked a furious backlash from women’s rights campaigners who accused marathon chiefs of contempt for women and urged them to ‘weed out’ males who have ‘erroneously’ entered the female category.
Jane Sullivan, sports co-ordinator for the Women’s Rights Network, said: ‘The London Marathon organisers’ attitude is awful.
‘They are ignoring the law by creating a two-tier sport which tells all those thousands of women who enter the marathon that their race is worth less than that of the men. Women entering the main marathon have been training hard and do not want their times to be compared to a male who had entered a female category.’
Mr Brasher responded: ‘We are awaiting clarification on participation, as opposed to competition, to the Supreme Court ruling from the EHRC and Sport England.’
Tens of thousands of Londoners will flock to parts of the marathon route today to watch family and friends take part.
The youngest participant will be Lucy Jones, who turns 18 on marathon day, while the oldest runners are Mohan Kudchadker, 84, and Mary Jo Brinkman, 83 – both of whom are travelling over from the US for the event.
Six men, known as the ever presents, have ran every London marathon since the race began in 1981 – a total of 44 races.
The runners, Chris Finill, Malcolm Speake, Michael Peace, Jeffrey Aston, Bill O’Connor and David Walker, will all be participating on Sunday for the 45th time.
Other participants include David Stancombe and Sergio Aguiar, whose daughters Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were murdered in the Southport attack last summer.
They are raising money for projects in memory of their daughters and Bebe King, six, who was also killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July.
In a video message posted on X, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wished the pair ‘the very best of luck’.
He added: ‘This is an incredible way to honour the memory of your precious daughters and the entire nation is in awe of your courage and your resilience.
‘We’ll all be with you, every single step of the way.’
In an interview with BBC Breakfast, Mr Stancombe said: ‘Even now it still blows me away that so many people know about it and you’re getting messages from the Prime Minister.
‘I would love people to know I’ve seen their message, but I have genuinely read so many of them. It’s amazing.’
Celebrity participants include Emmerdale star Tony Audenshaw who last ran the London Marathon in 2015 but has returned to fundraise for Pancreatic Cancer UK, the event’s charity of the year, after the death of his wife Ruth in April 2017, aged 43.
Audenshaw, who has played Bob Hope for 25 years, said ‘it just felt right’ to take part what on would have been the couple’s 24th wedding anniversary.
‘I gave myself a year to train because it’s a long time since I’ve done a marathon,’ he told the PA news agency.
‘Running at 60 is very different to running at 40.’
He added: ‘Too many runners overthink it too much, they worry about this and that and the other. Just go running. Get out, get running, do it, put the donkey work in and you’ll get the reward at the end of it.’
Rivals actress Lisa McGrillis, who plays boutique owner Valerie Jones, is running for the British Heart Foundation with her best friend Mary Cann following the death of Mary’s husband Nigel from a heart attack last year.
McGrillis, who suffered several injuries during training, told PA: ‘I’m just hoping that on the day I’ll just push through and then never run again.’
Comedian and TV presenter Romesh Ranganathan, McFly drummer Harry Judd and singer Alexandra Burke are also set to take part.
Some 103 runners are attempting to break 87 Guinness World Records (GWR) at this year’s event, including a duo dressed as a slinky dog and a firefighter wearing full kit.
Many participants hope their quirky attempts to break records will help boost their fundraising efforts for their chosen charities.
Other record attempts include the fastest marathon dressed as a crustacean (male), fastest marathon dressed as a vegetable (female) and most pairs of underwear worn during a marathon (female).
Sixteen MPs are also among those gearing up for the race, including Labour’s Josh Fenton-Glyn, Conservative Harriet Cross and Lib Dem Tom Gordon.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick will be taking part for the first time after sparking rumours of a leadership challenge after accidentally adding 600 people to a WhatsApp group while trying to fundraise for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association.
The hottest marathon day recorded was in 2018 – when temperatures peaked at 24.2C, while the coldest was in 2004 with highs of just 5.3C.
Last year, TCS London Marathon raised a record-breaking £73.5 million, bringing the cumulative total raised since the first race in 1981 to more than £1.3 billion, according to organisers.
Elsewhere, some 36,000 runners are set to take part in the adidas Manchester Marathon which is also being held on Sunday.