Kipchoge wins London Marathon for record 4th time
Brigid Kosgei captures women's title
Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya ran the second-fastest time ever to win the London Marathon for a record fourth time Sunday, and compatriot Brigid Kosgei swept to victory by almost two minutes in the women's race.
Only Kipchoge has run a marathon quicker than that, when breaking the world record in Berlin in September in a time of 2:01:39. With more twists and turns, London is typically a slower course than Berlin — making Kipchoge's display even more exceptional.
"I'm happy to win on the streets of London for the fourth time and to make history on a day that the event has raised 1 billion pounds," said Kipchoge, who won in London in 2015, '16 and '18.
The great <a href="https://twitter.com/EliudKipchoge?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EliudKipchoge</a> just won the London Marathon, finishing with a time of 2 hours, 2 minutes and 38 seconds. It’s the second fastest marathon time of all time and means he ran the 26.2 mile race at a 4 minute and 41 second per mile pace! <a href="https://t.co/Krxh4rQQ77">pic.twitter.com/Krxh4rQQ77</a>
—@darrenrovell
Home favourite Mo Farah — a four-time Olympic champion on the track — could not live with the pace, dropping away at the 14-mile mark and finishing a distant fifth at the end of a week when he was involved in an extraordinary public feud with retired distance-running great Haile Gebrselassie.
Compatriot and defending champion Vivian Cheruiyot finished in a time of 2:20:14 and Roza Dereje of Ethiopia was third, 37 seconds further back.
Dan Romanchuk, a 20-year-old American, won the men's wheelchair race ahead of Switzerland's Marcel Hug. Canada's Brent Lakatos finished in 12th, while teammate Josh Cassidy was 18th. The women's wheelchair race was won comfortably by Switzerland's Manuela Schar, the 2017 champion.