Sisay Lemma, Joyciline Jepkosgei win London Marathon

Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma won the men’s London Marathon in a time of two hours, four minutes and one second after breaking away from the leading pack late in the race. He would have won $25,000 in extra time bonuses had he crossed the mark a second sooner.

The 30-year-old crossed the line

27 seconds ahead of Kenya’s Vincent Kipchumba, who took the runner-up spot for the second successive year, while his compatriot Mosinet Geremew finished third.

Kenyan great Eliud Kipchoge, winner of four of the previous five

London Marathons before 2020, was absent from this year’s event, with

Britain’s Mo Farah also missing after failing to qualify for the Tokyo

Games and suffering a stress fracture in his foot.

Meanwhile, Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei emerged victorious in the women’s race on her London debut with a time of 2:17.43, upsetting twice winner and compatriot Brigid Kosgei. Junior doctor Phil Sesemann celebrated his 29th birthday by finishing seventh, crossing the line just one place behind defending champion Shura Kitata of Ethiopia. He was, in fact, the first British male to finish the race.