Kipchoge, Cheruiyot mark Kenyan double
london — Eliud Kipchoge won the London Marathon for the third time on Sunday, with Mo Farah breaking the British record as he finished third, while there was a surprise victory for Vivian Cheruiyot in the women’s race.
Kipchoge, who skipped last year’s race to attempt a sub-two minute marathon in Italy, could not break Dennis Kimmetto’s world record as high temperatures made running conditions difficult in the English capital.
Women’s favourite Mary Keitany attempted to break Paula Radcliffe’s “mixed race” record — assisted by male pacemakers — but the Kenyan struggled late on in the race, eventually finishing fifth and unable to add to her three London titles.
That allowed Cheruiyot in to take her first London crown, having won her first career marathon in Frankfurt only in October.
Radcliffe’s record, set in 2003, did seem under threat early on as Keitany comfortably led for the majority of the race but the conditions got the better of her in the end.
The men’s race went out at a blistering pace, with early leader Guye Adola clocking four minutes 22 seconds in the first mile, and Farah stayed with the group until a bizarre incident when he missed his drinks bottle around the 10-mile mark, which delayed him after a heated exchange with a steward.
“It was interesting, it was quite confusing. I went to pick it up... I couldn’t see my drink,” Farah said.
Kipchoge overtook Adola early on and led from the front, with the pace remaining on course for a world-record time until the second half of the race, when the heat intensified.
Tola Shura Kitata of Ethiopia stayed with Kipchoge until close to the end but the 2015 and 2016 champion strode clear to win with a time of 2:04:17. —