In the London Marathon, Peres Jepchirchir leads a strong field to a record

Following Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir’s lead, Kenyan athletes dominated the 2024 London Marathon, setting a women’s lone world record with a timing of two hours, sixteen minutes, and sixteen seconds on Sunday.

Following the spectacular victory, Kenya’s Alexander Mutiso Munyao won the men’s race in 2:04:01, beating off fierce competition from legendary distance runner Kenenisa Bekele.

In the women’s division, Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei, Ethiopia’s Megertu Alemu, and world record holder Tigst Assefa all defeated Mary Keitany’s 2017 mark of 2:17:01.

Jekposgei easily won third place with a time of 2:16:24, followed by Aseffa in second place behind Jepchirchir (2:16:23), and Mergutu Alemu, another Ethiopian, in fourth place with a time of 2:16:34.

After winning the previous gold, Jepchirchir has already been selected for Kenya’s women’s marathon Olympic team. She will try to make history by being the first female competitor to win back-to-back gold in Paris. It was no secret going into the London Marathon that the main goal for the women’s race was to beat Keitany’s women-only world record of 2:17:01.

Compatriot Munyao of Jepchirchir completed a double for Kenya, winning the men’s race in 2:04:01 to overcome the legendary Ethiopian distance runner Bekele by a margin of 14 seconds. With three miles remaining, Munyao, 27, pulled ahead of Bekele, who was trying to win London for the first time, some 20 years after he won the gold in the 10,000 meters at the Olympics.