(London) Kenyan Alexander Mutiso won the London marathon for the first time on Sunday in 2 hours, 4 minutes and 1 second, succeeding his compatriot Kelvin Kiptum, who died in February in a road accident and to whom he paid tribute.
Second in Valencia (Spain) in December, Mutiso broke away in the last kilometers to cross the line in front of the experienced Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele (2:04:15) and the Briton Emile Cairess (2:06:46).
The race was orphaned this year by the previous winner Kelvin Kiptum, the fastest marathoner in history, who died at the age of 24 in a road accident alongside his coach.
His face was displayed in black and white on giant screens and participants applauded for thirty seconds in his memory before the start.
“May he rest in peace,” Mutiso then declared after his victory on the BBC.
Peres Jepchirchir among women
Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir, reigning Olympic champion, won the London marathon on Sunday in 2 hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds, a new world record for an exclusively women’s race.
PHOTO DAVID CLIFF, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Peres Jepchirchir
The 30-year-old athlete erased from the shelves the old mark of his compatriot Mary Keitany established in 2017 (2:17:01), already in the British capital.
She made a fatal acceleration in the last meters for the Ethiopian Tigst Assefa, who in 2023 became the fastest marathon runner in the world in Berlin, where male hares took part in the race.
For her first participation, Assefa finished the London marathon in second place, seven seconds behind the winner (2:16:23), just ahead of Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei (2:16:24).
The field was particularly strong this year in London, with three of the four fastest marathon runners in the world at the start. Only Sifan Hassan, crowned in 2023 in England, was missing.
Kenyan Brigid Kosgei, a former world record holder, finished fifth, three minutes behind the podium.