Kenyan pair win titles in London Marathon
Jepchirchir outkicks Assefa in women's race, Munyao defeats Bekele in men's
Peres Jepchirchir and Alexander Mutiso Munyao, two Kenyan runners with vastly different resumes when it comes to their success at the international level, won the women’s and men’s races, respectively, in the 44th edition of the London Marathon on Sunday.
Jepchirchir, the defending Olympic champion, made a decisive move with about 400 meters left in the women’s contest to cross the finish line in 2 hours 16 minutes 16 seconds as world-record holder Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia finished second in 2:16:23 and Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei placed third in 2:16:24.
The performance by the 30-year-old Jepchirchir was the fastest ever in a women’s only race, lowered her personal best by a minute, and moved her to 11th on the all-time world performer list.
It was also her sixth victory in her last seven marathons for the winner of the past three world titles in the half marathon.
The 27-year-old Munyao, whose most notable previous performance had been a second-place finish in last December’s Valencia Marathon in Spain, won the men’s race in 2:04:01 on Sunday after breaking away from co-leader and all-time distance-running great Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia before the 40-kilometer mark.
The 41-year-old Bekele, the winner of a combined three Olympic and five World Championship gold medals on the track, as well as 11 World titles in cross country, placed second in 2:04:15 while trimming four seconds off the world masters (age 40 and above) record he had set while finishing fourth in the Valencia Marathon.
Unheralded Britons Emile Cairess and Mahamed Mahamed placed third and fourth, respectively, in personal bests of 2:06:46 and 2:07:05 after five of the top nine runners at the 30-kilometer mark did not finish the race, and a sixth ran 2:36:20 to place 29th among elite men’s division finishers.
Jepchirchir had been on top of the women’s marathoning world two years ago after winning the Olympic Games race in Sapparo, Japan, in August of 2021, the New York City Marathon in November of that year, and the Boston Marathon in April of 2022.
However, injuries had interrupted her training at critical junctures since then and her only marathon had been a third-place finish in the London Marathon last year when she ran 2:18:38. Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands won that tightly-contested race in 2:18:33 while making her debut at the distance and Megertu Alemu of Ethiopia was second in 2:18:37.
In addition, the women’s marathon has been in the midst of a revolution of sorts during the last two-plus years as sub-2:19 and sub-2:18 clockings have become commonplace.
Assefa, a former 800-meter specialist, has led the charge in that regard. She ran a stunning 2:15:37 in winning the Berlin Marathon in 2022 in her second-ever race at the distance before obliterating that mark — as well as the world record of 2:14:04 — with a 2:11:53 clocking in Berlin last September.
Assefa was definitely the favorite Sunday and she spent much of the first half of the race running nearly even with the lead pacesetter who brought the front pack through splits of 15:44 for the first five kilometers, 31:26 for 10k, 47:37 for 15k, 1:03:35 for 20k, and 1:07:04 for the halfway mark.
The lead pack was down to seven runners at that point as Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich, the fourth-fastest woman in history at 2:14:18, was 15 seconds behind in eighth place after beginning to lose ground just before 20 kilometers.
The lead group was down to six — and no pacesetters — when Assefa came through 25 kilometers in 1:19:38.
Kenyan Brigid Kosgei, who had run a then-world record of 2:14:04 in Chicago in 2019, was in seventh place, nine seconds off the lead.
It was down to a leading quartet when Jepkosgei, Jepchirchir, and Assefa clocked 1:35:56 at 30 kilometers, with Alemu a second behind them.
Jepchirchir then led at 35 kilometers in 1:52:48 before she, Assefa, and Alemu came through 40 kilometers in 2:09:13, followed by Jepkosgei at 2:09:14.
Something had to give soon, but Jepchirchir, Alemu, Assefa, and Jepkosgei were running four-wide, stride for stride with one another at the 2:14:00 mark.
Alemu began to fall back 35 seconds later and Jepchirchir stepped on the accelerator at the 2:15:00 mark.
Her move quickly opened up ground on Assefa and Jepkosgei and she looked sensational as she turned down the final straightaway, her arms pumping vigorously and her stride looking smooth.
She threw up her arms shortly before crossing the finish line and let out a celebratory yell as she broke the first-place tape before shedding tears of happiness shortly after that.
Behind Assefa at 2:16:23, Jepkosgei’s 2:16:24 was a personal best, as was Alemu’s 2:16:34 effort in fourth place. She was followed by Kosgei in 2:19:02 and Kenyan Sheila Chepkirui in 2:19:31. Chepngetich finished ninth in 2:24:36.
The performances by Jepchirchir, Assefa, Jepkosgei, and Alemu marked the first time in history that four women had run under 2:17 in the same race and increased the number of all-time sub-2:17 clockings to 22, with 20 having been run since the start of 2022.
Unlike many marathons, in which the men and women races start in tandem with one another, the women’s race started 35 minutes before the men’s in London, meaning that Jepchirchir’s winning time was a world record for a women’s-only race, bettering the previous best of 2:17:01 set by Kenyan Mary Jepkosgei Keitany in London in 2017.
“I am feeling grateful. I am so happy for the victory,” Jepchirchir told BBC Sport. “I was not expecting to run a world record — I knew it might be beat but I did not expect it to be me.
“I knew the history and the ladies were strong. I was working extra hard. My time was lower but I’ve come good today and set a PB.”
Feeling sure — and for good reason — that she would be named to the Kenyan team for the Olympic Games in Paris in August, she added that “I am so happy to qualify for the Olympics and I feel grateful. I’m happy to be at Paris and my prayer is to be there and run well to defend my title. I know it won’t be easy but I’ll try my best.”
While the men’s race did not have as clear-cut a favorite as Assefa was in the women’s contest, Ethiopians Tamirat Tola and Bekele were two of the runners being talked about most in pre-race prognostications.
Tola had set a course record of 2:04:58 in the New York City Marathon last November and he was also the 2022 World champion, although he had dropped out of last year’s World Championships in August with stomach issues.
Bekele’s last marathon victory had come in Berlin in 2019, but his time of 2:01:41 in that race had just missed the then-world record of 2:01:39 set by Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge in Berlin in 2018.
In addition, Bekele said he had felt rejuvenated with his performance in Valencia when his 2:04:19 clocking had been the second-fastest of his career.
On top of that, he is a former world record-holder in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters who is regarded by many as the greatest all-around men’s distance runner in history.
Not surprisingly, he and Tola were among a lead pack — not counting pacesetters — of at least 10 runners who went through five kilometers in 14:35, 10k in 29:03, 15k in 43:41, 20k in 58:20, and halfway in 1:01:29.
Ethiopians Milkesa Mengesha, Tola, and Kinde Atanaw proceeded to lead a nine-runner lead pack through 25 kilometers in 1:12:45.
Ethiopians comprised seven of the top nine runners at that point in the race and they still occupied six of the top eight when Tola, Mengesha, and Bekele led the group through 30 kilometers in 1:27:20.
However, the front group was down to Bekele and Munyao when the duo passed through 35 kilometers in 1:42:07.
Mengesha was three seconds back in 1:42:10 at that stage, with Tola and compatriot Dawit Wolde at 1:42:31. Cairess was in eighth place, more than two and half minutes behind Mengesha, but he was gaining rapidly as he had run well back of the lead pack earlier in the race and was full of run.
Munyao and Bekele were still running together an hour and 50 minutes into the race, but the Kenyan had taken a five-second lead over the Ethiopian six minutes later and he was six seconds ahead when he came through 40 kilometers in 1:57:09.
Cairess was in third place at 1:59:47, followed by Mahamed at 2:00:22, as Ethiopians Tola, Mengesha, Wolde, and Leul Gebresilase, we well as Kenyan Daniel Mateiko, had either dropped out of the race or were on their way to not finishing.
Ethiopian Seifu Tura was in fifth place in 2:00:40 at 40 kilometers, but he would cross the finish line in 2:36:20.
Although Munyao slowed appreciably during his final two-plus kilometers, his winning time of 2:04:01 was the third fastest of his career. Bekele’s 2:04:15 mark was the No. 2 clocking of his life, while Cairess (2:06:46), Mahamed (2:07:05), and Hassan Chahdi of France (2:07:30) all set personal bests while finishing third, fourth, and fifth.
Henok Tsefay of Eritrea rounded out the top six finishers with a time of 2:09:22.
After his victory, which gave him his first World Marathon Major title, Munyao paid tribute to the late Kelvin Kiptum, a fellow Kenyan and friend of his who was killed in a car crash on Feb. 11.
Kiptum had set a course record of 2:01:25, then the second-fastest time in history, in the London Marathon last year before he lowered the world record to 2:00:35 in Chicago last October.
When asked about his late break Munyao was quoted saying the following in a time.com post.
“At 40 kilometers, when my friend Bekele was left (behind), I had confidence that I can win this race.”
Munyao had entered the race as one of five Kenyans on a short list for three spots on the nation’s marathon squad for the Olympics, but he wasn’t sure if his performance in London would lead to Athletics Kenya choosing him as one of its three entrants in the Games in Paris.
“I hope for the best,” he said. “If they select me I will go and work for it.”