Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum Breaks Men’s Record at London Marathon

Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum on Sunday bagged the London Marathon title in a time of 2 hours 1 minute and 26 seconds, becoming the second-fastest marathon runner in history.

Kiptum, who ran the fastest-ever debut marathon in Valencia in December 2022, also smashed the Course Record set by his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge in 2019.

In only his second career marathon, the 23-year-old was just 17 seconds outside Kipchoge’s world record of 2:01:09 set in Berlin in September 2022.

Two-time New York City Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor and Tamirat Tola from Ethiopia finished second and third in 2:04:23 and 2:04:59 respectively.

In the women's category, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands produced a remarkable run to win the title on her marathon debut.

The Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion, 30, appeared out of the race after dropping back early on with what looked like a cramp but she fought back. She then produced a sprint finish to win in 2 hours 18 minutes 33 seconds.

Alemu Megeretu of Ethiopia finished second in a time of 2:18:37 while Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya emerged third at 2:18:38

This was Jepchirchir’s third World Marathon Majors race, having won the 2021 New York City Marathon and 2022 Boston Marathon.