This Is London 5 April 2019

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SIR ANDY MURRAY TO START 2019
VIRGIN MONEY LONDON MARATHON
British sporting icon Sir Andy Murray
will be the official starter of the 2019
Virgin Money London Marathon. The
tennis superstar, one of Britain’s greatest
ever athletes, will start the world’s
greatest marathon on Sunday 28 April.
Andy became the first British man in
77 years to win the Wimbledon singles
title in 2013 and repeated the triumph
again in 2016. He won successive
Olympic gold medals in 2012 and 2016
with the first of those coming at
Wimbledon as part of the London
Olympic Games.
The 31-year-old, who grew up in
Dunblane, Scotland, also won the US
Open in 2012 and in 2014 famously led
Great Britain to a first Davis Cup title
since 1936. He was the world’s number
one ranked player from November 2016
to August 2017. He was knighted in the
2017 New Year’s Honours List.
Andy, who is currently rehabilitating
after surgery on his right hip, has a
personal connection with the event as he
was there to support his wife Kim when
she ran in 2014.
Last year, Her Majesty The Queen was
the official race starter while in 2017 the
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and
Prince Harry pressed the famous red
button to get the marathon under way.
The official starters over the years have
also included five time Olympic
champion Sir Steve Redgrave and
double Olympic champions Helen
Glover and Heather Stanning.
Hugh Brasher, Event Director of the
Virgin Money London Marathon, said:
‘Sir Andy Murray is one of Britain’s
greatest sporting superstars and it is
so fitting that he will be the official
starter for one of the country’s greatest
sporting events and the world’s greatest
marathon. Andy is renowned as one of
the toughest and most competitive
sportsmen on the planet and someone
who does not recognise barriers in
sport. We are delighted that he will be
with us on Sunday 28 April to start the
field of 42,000 runners undertaking the
legendary 26.2 mile challenge –
including both the very best marathon
runners in the world and thousands of
first-timers who have been inspired to
get active and raise money for charity.’
DAMBUSTERS: VIRTUAL REALITY
EXPERIENCE AT RAF MUSEUM
The Royal Air Force Museum is
inviting visitors to take a seat on board a
Lancaster during the legendary
Dambusters raid of 1943, using Virtual
Reality technology.
The Dams Raid was the greatest feat of
arms performed by the Royal Air Force
and one of the key stories of the Second
World War. Its success captured the
public imagination at the time and over
the next 70 years inspired a multitude of
books, films and documentaries.
Dambusters: Immersive Histories is
the newest part of the Dambusters offer
that also includes a replica of the
‘bouncing bomb’, Barnes Wallis’ office
and the original moulds of the first test
bombs. The Virtual Reality Experience
puts the user inside a moment in history.
For the first time ever, visitors to the
Museum can step inside the story of the
iconic operation through an authentic,
interactive recreation of the Dambusters’
first mission on 16 May 1943 attacking
the Möhne Dam.
Lancaster during the Dambusters raid.
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