London: Eliud Kipchoge stormed to his third London Marathon title on Sunday to complete an impressive Kenyan double after Vivian Cheruiyot dominated the women’s race in warm conditions.
Kipchoge, 33, saw off the challenge of Ethiopia’s Tola Shura Kitata and home favorite Mo Farah to win his third London marathon in four years in a time of 2 hrs 4 min 27 sec, finishing more than half a minute in front of Kitata (2:05:00), with Farah third (2:06:32).
Cheruiyot, 34, timed her run perfectly to win the women’s event in a time of 2 hours 18 min 31 secs ahead of compatriot Brigid Kosgei (2:20:13), and Ethiopia’s Tadelech Bekele (2:21:40).
She took advantage of failed attempts to break Paula Radcliffe’s 15-year-old world record by last year’s winner Mary Keitany and runner-up Tirunesh Dibaba.
In unusually warm conditions in the British capital first Dibaba and then Keitany dropped off the pace, allowing the 2016 Olympic 5,000m gold medallist to claim victory.
After nine miles Keitany and main rival Dibaba were 25 seconds ahead of Radcliffe’s time. But Dibaba was soon reduced to a walking pace to leave Keitany with only her two male pacemakers for company.
Keitany, looking for a fourth win in London, also started to slow down as it became apparent Radcliffe’s record of two hours 15 minutes 25 seconds would not be threatened.
Britain’s David Weir won the men’s wheelchair race for the eighth time after a thrilling sprint finish.
The 38-year-old pipped Switzerland’s Marcel Hug into second place, with Daniel Romanchuk of the United States third.