London Marathon brings confirmation and drama
London Marathon brings confirmation and drama
Kiptum runs second fastest time in history, newcomer Hassan comes from behind to win women's race
Kelvin Kiptum is for real.
On a Sunday morning when Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands won a hotly contested women’s contest in the London Marathon in her debut race at the 26-mile, 385-yard distance, Kenyan Kiptum ran the second fastest time in history in winning the men’s title by nearly three minutes.
The 23-year-old Kiptum timed 2 hours 1 minute 25 seconds to crush the course record of 2:02:37 set by Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya in 2019 and come within 16 seconds of the 2:01:09 world record that Kipchoge had run in Berlin last September.
In the women’s race, Hassan ran 2:18:33 after breaking away from her two closest pursuers in a sprint finish down the final straightaway to cap a performance that twice saw her stop to stretch her left leg during the first half of the race.
“I’m very happy to run the second fastest time in history,” Kiptum said in an interview posted on the FloTrack site. “My preparation was good. Everything was going one way.”
Kiptum stunned many when he ran 2:01:53 — then the fourth-fastest time in history — to win the Valencia Marathon in Spain last December in his first race at the distance. But any thoughts about that performance being a fluke were laid to rest on Sunday when he ran the second half of the race nearly two minutes faster than the first and clocked a scintillating 27:50 from 30 to 40 kilometers.
Kiptum had been part of a nine-runner lead pack — not including three pace makers — that passed through five kilometers in 14:30 and he was at the front of that same pack when he came through 10 kilometers in 29:12 following a second five-kilometer segment in 14:42.
(In terms of full disclosure, the site on which I was streaming the marathon had technical difficulties that prevented me from watching the men’s race after the 25-minute mark — and the women’s race after the first hour or so as the women started 35 minutes before the men. However, I am able to report on what transpired in the two races based on splits from the London Marathon site and by reading various online posts).
The pace actually slowed slightly in the men’s race for the next 10 kilometers as Kiptum and Birhanu Legese of Ethiopia led a nine-runner lead pack through 20 kilometers in 58:31.
Defending London Marathon champion Amos Kipruto of Kenya and World champion Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia were part of that group, as was Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia, who had started the race as the second-fastest marathoner in history with a best of 2:01:41 from 2019.
After passing the halfway mark in 1:01:40, the pace began to pick up as Kiptum and Kipruto led a group of eight runners — that did not include Bekele — through 25 kilometers in 1:12:53. They were two of five runners who came through 30 kilometers in 1:27:23.
Having run the previous 10 kilometers in 28:52, Kiptum blew the race open when he covered the next five kilometers in a sizzling 13:49 while passing 35 kilometers in 1:41:12.
He had a 28-second lead over second-place Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya at that point and his advantage had grown to a minute and 50 seconds when he came through 40 kilometers in 1:55:13.
He kept rolling from there as he covered the final 2.2 kilometers of the race in 6:12 — compared to Kipchoge’s 6:16 clocking during his world record — and added more than a minute to his advantage over Kamworor, who finished second in a personal best of 2:04:23.
Tola placed third in 2:04:59, followed by fellow Ethiopians Leul Gebresilase (2:05:45) and Seifu Tura (2:06:38).
Emile Cairess of Great Britain finished sixth in 2:08:07 with countryman Mo Farah placing ninth in 2:10:28 while running in what was expected to be the final marathon on his career.
Farah, 40, won a combined 10 gold medals in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters in the Olympic Games and World Championships, but he was not as successful in the marathon.
In contrast, Kiptum lacks the track pedigree of Farah, but he unquestionably has a knack for the marathon.
When asked what his secret was, he attributed it to training. He also said he loved the spectators cheering along the course, saying that they “gave me a lot of motivation.”
Hassan appeared to be in disbelief after winning the women’s race against a field that was considered one of the greatest ever assembled.
“I couldn’t even believe it,” she said in an interview on the FloTrack site. “I swear to God. I just can’t believe I [won].”
Hassan, 30, had entered the race with superb track credentials as she had won the women’s 5,000 and 10,000 and placed third in the 1,500 in the Olympic Games in Tokyo. But London was her first marathon and she admitted before the race that she was intimidated by the thought of racing that far.
She also said after the race that she had had some issues with her left hip about a week earlier.
Those issues were not apparent when Hassan was a second out of the lead when she came through 10 kilometers in 32:38 and 15 kilometers in 48:44. But she was 12 seconds behind the leaders when she came through 20 kilometers in 1:05:10 and 28 seconds back when she timed 1:21:20 at 25 kilometers.
Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya and defending London champion Yalemzerf Yehualaw of Ethiopia were amongst the six-runner lead pack at that point. But world record-holder Brigid Kosgei of Kenya was not in that group as she had dropped out of the race less than four minutes into it after recently suffering a hamstring injury.
Hassan, with her hip issues seemingly behind her, trailed the six-runner lead pack by only three seconds when the group came through 30 kilometers in 1:37:20. But she was in fifth place, 14 seconds behind first-place Jepchirchir, when the Kenyan came through 35 kilometers in 1:53:40.
However, the pace slowed drastically after that as first-place Jechirchir ran the next five kilometers in 17:16 after running the two previous 5K segments in 16:28 and 16:20.
As a result, Hassan was one of four women — along with Jepchirchir, Yehaulaw and Megertu Alemu of Ethiopia — who came through 40 kilometers in 2:10:56.
Hassan then used her superior speed on the track to pull away from Alemu and Jepchirchir in a final sprint and cross the finish line in 2:18:33. The time made her the second fastest European in history behind Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain, who had run a then-world record of 2:15:25 in winning the London Marathon in 2003.
Alemu finished second in 2:18:37, followed by Jepchirchir in 2:18:38. Kenyan Sheila Chepkirui placed fourth in 2:18:51, followed by Yehualaw in 2:18:53, and Kenyan Judith Korir in 2:20:41.
In a post-race interview that was quite revealing, Hassan said she was so nervous before the race that she cried and threw up, things she never does.
She also said that before the race, she found herself thinking: Why did I say I was going to run a marathon? What is wrong with me?
Hassan still appeared to be in disbelief later in the day when she posted the following on Instagram. “This day has been incredible. Working towards my marathon debut these past months has been a journey with highs and lows. I always reminded myself why I wanted to do this, to push myself and to see what running a marathon is really like. I never expected to win and I still can't believe it. Thanks to everyone for your support. You have helped make this an unforgettable day!🤗🥰”
Sunday’s race was the third of six annual prestigious marathons that are categorized as World Marathon Majors.
The three remaining World Marathon Majors will be held in Berlin on Sept. 24, in Chicago on Oct. 8, and in New York City on Nov. 5.
The women’s marathon race of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary will be held on Aug. 26.