LONDON: Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum won the men’s London Marathon on Sunday in the second-fastest time in history while Sifan Hassan staged a remarkable rally to win the women’s event in the Olympic track champion’s first race over the distance.
The 23-year-old Kiptum broke the course record with an astonishing time of 2 hours, 1 minute and 25 seconds.
Having broken clear of the field, Kiptum — who became the third fastest male marathon runner of all time on his debut in Valencia in December — faded towards the finish and missed out on Eliud Kipchoge’s world record by 18 seconds.
Geoffrey Kamworor made it a Kenyan one-two, finishing second in 2:04:23, with Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola third in 2:04:59.
British distance great Mo Farah, in his last marathon before retirement, finished ninth in 2:10:28.
