Four-time British champion Jess Warner-Judd tells BBC Sport that the London Marathon 2026 represents a 'second chance' at running after she suffered a seizure during the 2024 European Championship 10,000m final, which led to a later epilepsy diagnosis.
Jess Warner-Judd, a 31-year-old British long-distance runner, will make her London Marathon debut in 2026 after collapsing during the European Championship 10,000m final at Stadio Olimpico in Rome in June 2024, suffering a seizure caused by undiagnosed focal epilepsy. The athlete, who had placed eighth in the world over 10,000m less than 10 months earlier, required a year of therapy to process her trauma and feared her running career might be over.
British runner Jess Warner-Judd will make her London Marathon debut on Sunday, 14 years after winning the Mini London Marathon, in a remarkable comeback story. The 31-year-old collapsed during the 2024 European Championships 10,000m final in Rome, suffering a seizure caused by undiagnosed focal epilepsy. After a year of therapy and with her condition now controlled by medication, Warner-Judd feared her running career was over but has recovered to compete in the marathon near her hometown of Canvey Island, Essex.
