Double Olympic champion, Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan rallied from behind to win London Marathon on her debut on Sunday in the British capital.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics 10,000 metres and 5,000m champion, rejoined the leading pack with seven kilometres to go to win in two hours, 18 minutes and 34 seconds.
Hassan stunned Ethiopia’s Alemu Megertu and Olympic marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir from Kenya in a thrilling sprint finish to second and third place in 2:18:37 and 2:18:38
It was a real test of nerves on who would crack first when Megertu pulled away inside the last two kilometres but Jepchirchir and Hassan refused to go down.
World record holder Brigid Kosgei, who limped from the start of the race withdrew in the first kilometre as Jepchirchir led the pack of 11 through 5km in 16:13 and 10km in 32:37.
Others Kenyans in the pack were world marathon silver medallist Judith Jeptum and Commonwealth Games 10,000m bronze medallist Sheila Chepkirui with defending champion Yalemserf Yehualaw and world 1,500m record holder Genzebe Dibaba in tow.
It was basically a battle between three Kenyans and six Ethiopians as Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan drifted away from the pack, occasionally holding her left knee.
Jeptum, Jepchirchir and Dibaba cruised past 20km in one hour, four minutes and 58 seconds as they threatened women’s only world record of 2:17:01 held by Kenya’s Mary Keitany set in 2017 at the same course.
Jeptum, Jepchirchir, Dibaba, Chepkirui and Ethiopia’s Alemu Megertu were in a pack of eight athletes to hit the halfway in 1:04:58.
Jepchirchir meant business as she looked strong, hitting 25km mark in 1:20:52, a second ahead of five athletes as Almaz Ayana from Ethiopia and Hassan fell behind the leaders.
However, Hassan–who was behind the pack by 28 seconds–worked her way back to close in on the leading pack of six just before they hit the 30km in 1:37:20 with Jepchirchir in command.
However, the pack fast disintegrated to four after Jepchirchir stepped on her gas pedal to drag along Chepkirui, Yehualaw and Megertu.
Jepchirchir took them through 35km in 1:53:40, 51 seconds behind Keitany’s women’s only world record as the pace at the front slowed significantly to allow Hassan, who was 14 seconds behind, join them.
As Chepkirui drifted away, the battle at the front was now left for Jepchichir, Yehualaw, Megertu and Hassan as they went through 40km in 2:10:56.
It was now obvious that the race was headed for a sprint finish inside the last two kilometres for the pack of five athletes, two Kenyans, two Ethiopians and a Dutch.
And it’s Sifan who had the last laugh, as Jepchirchir and Megertu failed to respond to her trademark killer kick.
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