Kenyan Amos Kipruto won the men’s London Marathon on Sunday October 2nd in his first appearance in the race.
A world bronze medallist in Doha in 2019, the 30-year-old Kipruto crossed the line in London in an unofficial time of two hours, four minutes and 39 seconds after breaking away from the field late on.
Leul Gebresilase of Ethiopia finished second in 2:05:12, with Bashir Abdi of Belgium third in 2:05:19.
An elated Kipruto said: “This is my London debut and it’s a wonderful day. “I decided to make a decisive break because of my training. I was confident and I knew when to go.”
Ethiopian distance great Kenenisa Bekele was fifth with compatriot Sisay Lemma, last year’s London Marathon winner, seventh.
Bekele said he still hoped to break the marathon world record even though he’s aged 40 and arguably no longer the force he was when winning three Olympic gold medals, 17 world titles over cross-country, track and road.
Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge smashed his own world record by half a minute in last week’s Berlin Marathon in a time of 2:01:09.
But Bekele, a former longtime holder of both the 5,000 and 10,000 metre world records, was clear about his ambition when asked after Sunday’s race if the marathon world record was still in his sights.
“Yes, that’s my main goal,” he replied.
Yehualaw’s winning time of 2:17:26 was just three seconds outside the mark she set at Hamburg in April when making the fastest debut in any women’s marathon and the third fastest in the corresponding London race.
Defending London champion Joyciline Jepkosgei was second, the Kenyan finishing in 2:18:07, with Ethiopia’s Alemu Megertu third in 2:18:32.