Kelvin Kiptum has won the elite men’s race at the 2023 London Marathon in record time. The Kenyan clocked 2:01:25, the second fastest marathon time of all time.
The 23-year-old runner from Kenya set the course record in a time of 2 hours, 1 minute and 25 seconds, beating Eliud Kipchoge’s world record by 16 seconds.
In the women’s, Seifan Hassan made an impressive comeback, winning in her marathon debut after looking injured halfway through.
At Mo Farah’s final long-distance marathon, defending champion Amos Kipruto and world champion Tamirat Tola were also among the elite men Kiptum left behind.
Farah, 40, was ninth in a time of 2:10:28.
Hassan won the elite women’s race in dramatic fashion in what has been described as possibly the strongest field ever.
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The Ethiopian-born Dutch athlete triumphed despite losing pace and holding her hip for about 15 miles.
The 30-year-old Olympic champion over 5,000 and 10,000 meters took the lead with a three-mile lead.
Hassan also broke through the chaos by grabbing a drink from a water station and even giving last year’s winner Elmazraf Yehoalu a shot from his bottle.
Hassan defeated Alemo Mejerto and Olympic gold medalist Pierce Jebschircher in a race down the Mall, coming home in 2:18:33.
Previously, women’s world record holder Brigid Kosgei had to retire less than four minutes before the start.
The Kenyan entered the race with injury problems and was clearly concerned from the start.
Kosgei, who holds the women’s record of 2:14:04, stepped to the curb after about 3 minutes. He then bent down to unlace his running shoes and signaled the race was over.
The marathon returned to its traditional April venue three years after being held in October due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
48,000 people out of a field of 49,675 runners registered for the race were due to cross the finish line near Buckingham Palace.
