Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge wins London Marathon in a 2nd fastest time in history, Mo Farah comes home fifth

By Samuel Abuya

Kenya’s seasoned runner Eliud Kipchoge gave London Marathon a touch of class Sunday winning the prestigious marathon in a second-fastest time of 2:02:37, which is behind his own World record of 2:01:39 that he set in Berlin, with Britain’s Mo Farah, a four-time Olympic gold medallist on the track, finishing at a distant fifth position.

The 34-year-old Eliud Kipchoge now becomes the first man to win the London Marathon four times.

Right from the beginning of the marathon, Eliud Kipchoge seemed determined to win with his rivals running in his shadow, appearing to avoid running shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Kipchoge led a pack of nine athletes who followed the pacemakers in the first 10 kilometres at a time of 29:01 hitting half of the marathon in 1:01:37.

Eliud Kipchoge seized command of the pack as the pacemaker started to falter waving at the rivals to usher them in for a ‘fight’, probably in a show of experience.

When asked about that action, he said: “That’s one way to stay together,” he said. “To encourage each other.”

After the halfway, Kipchoge broke away from his rivals giving them a hard time to catch up.

Eliud Kipchoge kept a steady speed that his opponents couldn’t cope up with and cut the tape with his hands spread to celebrate the yet again milestone in his career.

When asked by reporters on what is next for him, Eliud Kipchoge answered: “In Africa we [have a saying]: don’t chase two rabbits at once,” he said. “My rabbit was the London Marathon, and now I need to go back, sit with my coach, and see what I will do next.”

Back home, Kenyans poured into social media to celebrate Eliud Kipchoge and Bigid Kosgei who won the women side of the London Marathon making it a double win for the East African country which is a powerhouse as far as athletics are concerned.

Africa Global News Publication