Astronaut Tim Peake gets his marathon medal!

British ESA astronaut Tim Peake has finally received his Virgin Money London Marathon official finisher’s medal.

Back on Sunday 24 April, Peake clocked an impressive 3:35:21 on the treadmill running aboard the International Space Station to set a Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon in space.

Meanwhile, a record number of 39,140 runners completed the event on Earth and received the coveted finisher’s medal as they crossed the line in The Mall.

Peake returned at the end of his mission on 19 June and is now back at the ESA Astronaut Training Centre in Cologne, Germany. He was awarded his medal by BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty who had travelled out to Cologne to interview Peake.

“Wonderful! Thank you so much,” said a surprised Peake after Munchetty put the medal around his neck.

Peake ran the marathon as an ambassador for The Prince’s Trust and said after his run: “It was an incredible experience to take part in such a prestigious event whilst orbiting the planet on the International Space Station and I'm hugely grateful to everyone at the European Space Agency and NASA who made that happen. And last but not least, I was truly proud to be part of Team Astronaut in support of The Prince's Trust and to help raise awareness for the great work that they do.”

A record number of 253,930 UK applicants registered for a ballot place in the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon.

Just under 56% of the applications for 2017 were from people who have never run a marathon and more than 43% of the total applicants were women (also a record).