Kenya’s Kirui wins men’s world marathon in London

Kenya’s Geoffrey Kipkorir Kirui won the men’s world marathon on Sunday, making up for his country’s podium no- show in the last two championships.

Kirui, this season’s Boston marathon winner, clocked 2 hours 8 minutes and 27 seconds for gold, 1 minute 22 seconds ahead of Ethiopian rival Tamirat Tola.

Alphonce Simbu of Tanzania claimed bronze, just 2 seconds adrift of Tola after 42 kilometers around a 10- kilometer Thames river embankment loop in central Lon- don in glorious sunshine.

“This is the best moment of my career, easily,” said Kirui.

“I am so happy to win the world title because it is my first time at these championships. This was the best course and the best crowd I have seen at a marathon.

“I was not expecting to be a world champion. I feared the Ethiopian because he had such a fast time, so I just followed my plan to 35 kilometers and then felt my body to see how I was doing. Good for me it responded well.”

“Winning this title has been my goal for so long. Now my goal will be to repeat it.”

Tola, the Olympic bronze medalist at 10,000 meters and fastest in the field in London with his season’s best of 2: 04.11, led the field through the halfway point in 1: 05.28, accompanied by Kenyans Kirui and Gideon Kipketer, with this year’s London Marathon champion Daniel Wanjiru a couple of seconds back.

At the 1: 38 mark, Tola surged to open up a 20- meter lead on Kirui, but the Kenyan gradually reeled the Ethiopian back in and spurted past him to become the fifth gold medalist from the east African power- house in the marathon.

“I was smart not to follow the Ethiopian,” Kirui said of Tola’s initial surge, with his rival blaming an old leg injury for eventually falling off the Kenyan’s new pace. “When he tried to take off I knew I had to hit my target at 35 kilometers then I started to move.”

Britain’s Callum Hawkins finished fourth in a personal best of 2: 10.17, while Kipketer claimed fifth in 2: 10.56, a place ahead of Italy’s Daniele Meucci, given the same time, a personal best.