London - Eliud Kipchoge led a Kenyan clean sweep of the podium places as he won the men's London Marathon on Sunday in a time of two hours, four minutes and 42 seconds.
The final mile saw former world 5,000 metres champion Kipchoge sprint clear of Wilson Kipsang, last year's London winner, with world record-holder Dennis Kimetto finishing in third place.
Victory saw Kipchoge add the London title to his wins in last year's Rotterdam and Chicago marathons and was his fourth victory in five runs at the distance.
"It was a tough race. My training paid off and it went to plan," said Kipchoge.
Some pundits had billed the men's event as a 'Clash of the Champions' between Kipsang and Kimetto, their first meeting over the marathon.
"I was really under-rated," said Kipchoge. "Everyone was like, 'Wilson and Kimetto, who will win'?"
Kipsang added: "I tried to keep a close watch on him, but he had more fuel than me."
The 30-year-old Kipchoge, who went up in distance after his world title success on the track in Paris in 2003, beat a field featuring the three-fastest marathon runners of all-time.
His winning time was outside Kipsang's London record of 2hrs 04 mins and 29 secs set last year.
Kipsang's time of 2:04:47 on Sunday made him the quickest-ever London runner-up, surpassing Stanley Biwott's 2:04:55 last year.
Kimetto came in third this year in a time of 2:05:50, with Biwott in fourth place.
AFP
