Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum won the men’s London Marathon, breaking the course record with a stunning time of 2 hours, 1 minute, and 27 seconds, which is the second-fastest official time ever recorded on Sunday.
Despite breaking away from the field, Kiptum, who ran the third-fastest marathon time in Valencia in December, fell behind towards the end and missed out on breaking Eliud Kipchoge’s world record by only 18 seconds.
BBC commentator and 1500 metre world champion Steve Cram praised Kiptum’s performance, saying that the 23-year-old had blown the field apart.
In the women’s race, Sifan Hassan, a double Olympic track champion, won in her debut marathon race.
The Ethiopian-born Dutch runner, who had won Olympic gold medals in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Games, fell behind and appeared to be holding her side after the hour mark.
Regardless of this setback, Hassan recovered and rejoined the leading group with three miles to go, even after stopping to stretch her injury.
Even though there was a mishap at a water station, where she struggled to collect a drink, the 30-year-old regained her momentum and even offered her bottle to rival Yalemzerf Yehualaw, last year’s winner.
In a sprint finish, Hassan outpaced Olympic marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir to win with a time of 2 hours, 18 minutes, and 33 seconds. This was the first time Jepchirchir had been defeated in a major marathon race.
