NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 2 – Amos Kipruto perfectly timed his finishing kick as he put up a brilliant run in the final five kilometres to win his first ever London Marathon title, clinching the crown in a time of 2:04:39.
Kipruto had quietly sat in between the leading pack and waited for the opportune time to strike, and once he noticed that the rest of the athletes were struggling, he shot to the lead.
He had a 17 second lead with two kilometres to run, and he never seemed to tire, with glory in sight.
Ethiopia’s Leul Gebresilase was second in 2:05:12 while Belgium’s Abdi Bashir was third in 2:015:19.
Track legend Kenenisa Bekele who was charging for a possible assault at the title could not sustain the tempo as he was dropped out just before the 35km mark.
He finished fifth in 2:05:53.
As the only Kenyan in the race, Kipruto had little help, but that did not deter him, as he bossed the race.
He had come second in his first marathon of the year in Tokyo, and the 2019 World Championships bronze medalist upgraded the silver to gold in the British capital.
A neat group of seven leading athletes were perched together for most of the race until some, including Bekele, were dropped out as they just got beyond the 30km mark.
Bekele had led through the 5km mark in 14:45 and was also in the lead at the 10km mark which they crossed in 29:26.
Bekele was also solidly in the lead when they got to the hallway mark, crossing in 62:14, Kipruto perched solidly, running shoulder to shoulder with him.
At the 35km mark, Bekele was the first to be dropped out, the scorching pace proving too much for him, and was already nine seconds behind the leaders. At this point, Kipruto and Leul were taking charge.
At the 37km mark, the Kenyan stepped on his pedals and glided away, Leul not managing to keep up with the tempo.
The 30 year old didn’t look back, commanding the pace and majestically dotting down the finishing stretch to clinch the title.