LONDON — On the day the London Marathon commemorates last year's champion Kelvin Kiptum, Alexander Mutiso Munyao scores another victory for Kenya.
The race began with a round of applause for Kiptum, who died in a car accident in Kenya in February, as his compatriot and friend raced solo down the final straight in front of Buckingham Palace, taking an impressive victory in his first major race. That's how it ended. marathon.
Speaking to Kiptum after his victory in London last year, Mutiso Munyao said the world record holder was always on his mind during the competition.
“I always remember him because he was a great friend of mine,” Mutiso Munyao said. “It was a good day for me.”
Olympic champion Perez Jepchirchir pulled away in the final stages to win the women's race, cementing her position as the favorite to defend her gold medal in Paris and making it Kenya's second crown.
With about 400 meters (yards) to go, Jepchirchir sprinted solo down the final straight, leaving world record holder Tigst Assefa and two other rivals behind. She finished in 2 hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds, with Assefa in second and Joycilin Jepkosgei in third.
Her time was more than four minutes slower than Assefa's world record in Berlin last year, but it beat Mary Keitany's 2:17:01 record set in London in 2017, making it the fastest women's-only marathon in history. It was the fastest time. London's women's elite field started about 30 minutes earlier than the men's elite.
But Jepchirchir's main goal was to show Kenya's Olympic team selection officials that he should rejoin the team in Paris.
“So I was trying to work harder so I could defend my title at the Olympics,” she said.
Mutiso Munyao pulled away from the Ethiopian great with about three kilometers to go on Sunday, denying 41-year-old Kenenisa Bekele his first London Marathon victory as he bids for the biggest win of his career.
Mutiso Munyao and Bekele were locked in a two-way battle for the win until the Kenyan made his move along the Thames and quickly built up a six-second gap, which widened as he raced towards the finish line. There was a battle between three people.
“When my friend Bekele left me (behind) at the 40km mark, I was confident that I could win this race,” said Mutiso Muñao, 27.
He finished in 2 hours 4 minutes and 1 second, with Bekele finishing 14 seconds behind. Britain's Emil Careless was third, 2 minutes and 45 seconds behind.
Bekele is a former Ethiopian Olympic 10,000m and 5,000m champion and was runner-up in London in 2017, but has never won that race.
Mutiso Munyao is a relative unknown in the marathon world and said he was unsure whether his victory would be enough to earn him a spot on Kenya's Paris Olympic team.
“We're hoping for the best,” he said. “If they choose me, I will work for them.”