Kenyan athlete Kelvin Kiptum has absolutely smashed the London Marathon record after a stunning victory in the 2023 race.
Kiptum led for the final part of the race and finished with an incredible time of 2:01:27, which is only 18 seconds off Eliud Kipchoge’s world record time.
The 23-year-old looked absolutely spent as he made his final push to the finishing line in what was a wet and soggy London Marathon.
Speaking on commentary, former Team GB athlete Steve Cram praised the Kenyan.
He said: “It is still an incredible performance and one of the greatest we have seen on this course, the fastest we have seen on this course.
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“We have never seen anything like this before on the streets of London and Kelvin Kiptum has put in the performance of his life. He blew the field apart.”
Whilst it was a joyful race for Kiptum, it was an emotional one for British athletics legend Mo Farah, who was running in his last competitive marathon.
Farah finished in ninth place after being out-sprinted in the home straight by fellow Brit Phil Sesemann.
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After the race, Farah told the BBC: “London has been so great to me over the years and I wanted to be here to say thank you to the crowd and the support that was just amazing.
“Training went well, and I was confident and I thought I could do between 2:05 and 2:07 but you never know with the marathon.
“I gave it my all but my body just wasn't responding and that's when you know when it's time to call it a day.”
Farah continued: “Part of me was wanting to cry. The people were amazing, even in the rain to line the streets and that's what this is all about. It's what has kept me going for so long throughout my career.
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“I will miss that feeling, I am emotional today.”
The women’s race was won by multiple Olympic champion Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who battled a mid-race injury to finish first.
Topics: Athletics
Marcus Chan