Summary Eliud Kipchoge led a Kenyan clean sweep of the podium places as he won the men's London Marathon.
LONDON (AFP) - Eliud Kipchoge led a Kenyan clean sweep of the podium places as he won the men s London Marathon on Sunday in a time of two hours, four minutes and 42 seconds.
The final mile saw former world 5,000 metres champion Kipchoge sprint clear of Wilson Kipsang, last year s London winner, with world record-holder Dennis Kimetto finishing in third place.
Victory saw Kipchoge add the London title to his wins in last year s Rotterdam and Chicago marathons and was his fourth victory in five runs at the distance.
"It was a tough race. My training paid off and it went to plan," said Kipchoge.
Some pundits had billed the men s event as a Clash of the Champions between Kipsang and Kimetto, their first meeting over the marathon.
"I was really under-rated," said Kipchoge. "Everyone was like, Wilson and Kimetto, who will win ?"
Kipsang added: "I tried to keep a close watch on him, but he had more fuel than me."
The 30-year-old Kipchoge, who went up in distance after his world title success on the track in Paris in 2003, beat a field featuring the three-fastest marathon runners of all-time.
His winning time was outside Kipsang s London record of 2hrs 04 mins and 29 secs set last year.
Kipsang s time of 2:04:47 on Sunday made him the quickest-ever London runner-up, surpassing Stanley Biwott s 2:04:55 last year.
Kimetto came in third this year in a time of 2:05:50, with Biwott in fourth place.
In the women s race, there was a shock win for Tigist Tufa as the Ethiopian, who in common with Kipchoge was making her London debut, ended fours years of Kenyan domination.
Tufa was only the ninth-fastest competitor in the elite women s field but pulled clear just over a mile from the finish.
The 28-year-old won by some 18 seconds from Kenya s Mary Keitany in a time of 2:23:22.
Keitany, the winner of the race in 2011 and 2012, just did enough to hold off Tufa s compatriot, Tirfi Tsegaye, in the battle for second place.
Tufa, the 2014 Shanghai Marathon champion, was the first Ethiopian to win the London women s race since Derartu Tulu in 2001, with a 25th mile completed in just 5mins 07 secs enabling her to make a decisive breakaway in overcast and cool conditions.
"I ve always dreamed about winning the London Marathon and I can t say how happy I am that this has come true," said Tufa who beat a field featuring the Kenyan quartet of defending champion Edna Kiplagat, Keitany, half-marathon world record holder Florence Kiplagat and Priscah Jeptoo, the London winner in 2013.
Edna Kiplagat finished down the field in 11th place.
The race also marked British distance-running heroine Paula Radcliffe s farewell to the event.
No longer among the elite competitors, but running among the main field, the 41-year-old was bowing out on the same course where in 2003 she set a women s world record of 2:15:25 that still stands.
However, Radcliffe s career has been blighted by a series of injuries in recent years, with illness and fitness problems helping deny her an Olympic title.
Radcliffe crossed the line on Sunday in a time of 2:36:55.
"Down the last mile I thought, I don t care about the time . I just wanted to thank as many people as I could," Radcliffe said after embracing husband Gary Lough and their two children, daughter Isla and son Raphael, at the finish.
"There was a big sign at Embankment saying we will miss you , but it won t be as much as I will miss you."
In the wheelchair races there was an American double, with Joshua George holding off Britain s six-times London champion David Weir in a sprint finish, while Tatyana McFadden surged away in the women s event to win the event for a third successive year.
