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Wilson Kipsang beat what is probably the strongest field ever at the London Marathon. The race had an array of stars including New York Marathon champion Emmanuel Mutai, Two time Olympic gold medalist in the 5000m and 10,000m, Mo Farah, Olympic marathon champion Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda , former Chicago marathon winner Tsegay Kebede of Ethiopia, fomer Paris Marathon record holder, Stanley Biwott of Kenya and Ibrahim Jeylan of Ethiopia who like Mo Farah, was making his marathon debut. In addition, there was a celebrity pacer in Haile Gebresselasie, the legendary Ethiopian runner who is now 41.<\/p>\n
It was Geb who took the field out in an astonishingly fast pace. He took the field through 5 kilometers in an exuberant 14:21, including a 4:31 (downhill) third mile. \u00a0That put the field on an improbable 2:01:06. It was clear that no one could maintain that pace and indeed the pace slowed considerably when Geb dropped out.<\/p>\n
But the scorching early pace appeared to have taken a toll on everyone except for Kipsang and Biwott who were the only two to run under 2:06. \u201cYou see I tried to push from 20 (kilometers) even this time,\u201d Kipsang told Race Results Weekly in an interview. \u00a0\u201dThe kind of move that I made from after 21 was trying to see how the guys are. \u00a0I see the guys were really not strong enough.\u201d Said Kipsang.<\/p>\n
By the 20km mark, Kipsang and Biwott had surged ahead and at the 40-km mark, Kipsang made his move to shake off Biwott. Kipsang won with a course record of a course record 2:04:29. Biwott, who finished eighth here last year and was fifth in New York last November, finished a solid second in 2:04:55, a personal best. \u00a0Kebede, last year\u2019s London champion, won the sprint for third in 2:06:30 over Abshero (2:06:31). \u00a0Reigning Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon champion Mekonnen, reportedly 18 years-old, landed fifth in 2:08:06. Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich was in 2:11.37.<\/p>\n
Crowd favourite Mo Farah was 8th<\/sup> in 2:08:21, setting a new English (but not British) record. \u00a0He told the BBC in his post-race interview that he had had \u201ca bad day at the office.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe crowd, the support; I just dreamed of one day being here and do well,\u201d Farah told the BBC. \u00a0\u201dAnd that was always my goal. \u00a0He continued: \u201cI was alone a lot of the way. \u00a0Sometimes it\u2019s harder to be able to do something. You know, the point is that I\u2019m not thinking too much about it. \u00a0I had a bad day in the office; it is what it is. I\u2019ve got to move on and get ready for my next race.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
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