Vivian Cheruiyot wins London Marathon

Support The Guardian The Guardian - Back to home News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle Menu Vivian Cheruiyot Vivian Cheruiyot wins women’s London Marathon after Mary Keitany fades • 34-year-old from Kenya finishes in 2hr 18min 31sec • Mary Keitany and Tirunesh Dibaba fail in world record attempt Sean Ingle on The Mall @seaningle Sun 22 Apr 2018 06.56 EDT Last modified on Sun 22 Apr 2018 07.16 EDT Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot sprang a major surprise in the women’s London Marathon, surging from way back at halfway to win in a massive personal best of 2hr 18 min and 31 seconds. The race had been billed as a shootout between the Kenyan Mary Keitany and the Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba, who had spent the build-up talking up their ambitions of beating Paula Radcliffe’s world record of 2hr 15min 25sec, which has stood imposing and impenetrable for the past 15 years. Yet both went out too quickly in some of the hottest conditions in the race’s 37-year history and paid a steep price. Dibaba dropped out not long after 30km, while the pre-race favourite Keitany shuffled painfully over the line over five minutes back.

posted Sunday April 22nd