Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir clinched victory in the women’s London marathon, setting a new world record time of 2 hours 16 minutes 16 seconds in a women’s only race on Sunday.
The 30-year-old Kenyan crossed the finish line ahead of Tigst Assefa and Joyciline Jepkosgei, breaking the world record without the aid of male pacemakers.
Jepchirchir surpassed the previous women’s-only course record of 2:17:01 set by Kenya’s Mary Keitany in 2017.
Meanwhile, in the men’s race, Alexander Mutiso Munyao secured his first World Major Marathon victory, outpacing three-time Olympic track champion Kenenisa Bekele.
The 27-year-old Kenyan completed the race in 2 hours 4 minutes 01 second, with Britain’s Emile Cairess finishing third.
In the women’s event, attention was on retired British star Paula Radcliffe’s record of 2:15:25 set in a mixed-sex marathon in London in 2003, utilizing male pacemakers. Both Assefa and Jepchirchir had expressed intentions to challenge it during the race.
Despite being the pre-race favorite, world record holder Assefa couldn’t match Jepchirchir’s sprint towards the finish line in the final kilometer. Both athletes finished inside the previous women’s-only record time.
The men’s race began with a 30-second applause in honor of last year’s winner, Kelvin Kiptum, who tragically passed away in a car accident in February.
Munyao’s victory added a poignant touch to the day, following the emotional tribute to Kiptum. Despite a strong challenge from the 41-year-old Bekele, Munyao held his ground to secure the win by a 14-second margin.
Behind them, British runners Emile Cairess and Mahamed Mahamed had a strong showing, finishing third and fourth respectively.
