Kenyan athlete Kelvin Kiptum set a London Marathon course record on Sunday, finishing in two hours, one minute, 25 seconds, nearly three minutes ahead of second-placed Geoffrey Kamworor in a rain-drenched race full of drama.
Kiptum, who ran the fastest-ever debut marathon in Valencia last year, made his break at mile 19, establishing a solid lead to deliver the second-fastest marathon of all time.
The 23-year-old collapsed on to the ground, exhausted, after crossing the finish line. He ran the second half of the race in just 59 minutes and 45 seconds.
NEW COURSE RECORD! 🤯
What a moment. Kelvin Kiptum wins the 2023 TCS London Marathon and it's the second quickest time in history! #LondonMarathon #WeRunTogether pic.twitter.com/vw6UqgrmFH
— TCS London Marathon (@LondonMarathon) April 23, 2023
“I am so happy with the result,” Kiptum said in an interview after the race. “I don’t know what to say right now, I am just grateful.”
Sifan Hassan
Earlier, Dutch middle-distance athlete Sifan Hassan scored a stunning upset to win her debut marathon, an event she saw as a test which could pave the way to her competing over the marathon distance at next year’s Paris Olympics.
Dutch middle-distance athlete Sifan Hassan reacts as she crosses the finish line to win the elite women’s race of the 2023 London Marathon.
Hassan, who has won an Olympic gold medal in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres, made a dramatic comeback after an early injury to prevail over Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir and defending London champion Yelamzerf Yehualaw. Organisers descibed the race as the best ever elite women’s field for the event.
Hassan finished in 2:18:34 with a desperate sprint in the final 100 metres, three seconds ahead of second-placed Alemu Megertu of Ethiopia. Kenya’s Jepchirchir finished third.
“I learned to be patient and just to run your own race,” Hassan told a news conference. “Just keep going as much as possible and maybe you will surprise yourself.”
Hassan said she planned to run the marathon in either Chicago or New York later this year after focusing on the track for the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August.
The women’s marathon world-record holder, Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei, was a surprise early drop-out, limping off the course less than three minutes into the race. She has been battling a hamstring injury.
Switzerland’s Marcel Hug won the elite men’s wheelchair race, beating his own course record with a time of 1:23:44 for his third London victory in a row. Australia’s Madison de Rozario clinched the women’s wheelchair race in 1:38:51, in a thrillingly tight win over Switzerland’s Manuela Schaer.
