By Peter Hall
LONDON (Reuters) – Imperious Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge led from start to finish to clinch his fourth London Marathon crown on Sunday, with Britain’s Mo Farah unable to challenge the leaders down in fifth.
Kipchoge — who smashed the world record by over a minute when winning the Berlin Marathon last year with a time of two hours, one minute and 39 seconds — strode clear of the field to win with the second fastest ever marathon time of 2:02:37.
Having ran the first kilometer at world record pace out in front, Kipchoge clocked an identical 10km time as he did when breaking the world record in Berlin, before coming through the halfway point at 01:01:37.
Ethiopian duo Mosinet Geremew and Mule Wasihun kept up with Kipchoge, but the Kenyan pulled clear in the last two miles, winning with a course-record time, ahead of Geremew and Wasihun.
Farah, multi-Olympic, world and European champion over 10,000 and 5,000 meters, finished fifth, with a time outside his personal best.
(Reporting by Peter Hall; Editing by Toby Davis)
