Emmanuel Mutai wins in course-record time

• Kenya’s Emmanuel Mutai records fifth fastest time ever • Mary Keitany wins women’s race in personal-best time Emmanuel Mutai produced a stunning performance to win the men’s race in a London Marathon course-record time of 2hr 4min and 38sec. The Kenyan beat the previous best of 2:05.10 set by Samuel Wanjiru in 2009 and also recorded the fifth-fastest time ever. The 26-year-old, second last year, broke away at around the 21-mile mark with the three-time winner Martin Lel and Patrick Makau, making it a clean sweep for Kenya, Lel just edging out his compatriot in a sprint finish. Mutai’s victory also completed a Kenyan double, with his compatriot Mary Keitany earlier smashing her personal best to seal a commanding victory in the women’s race. Keitany broke away after 15 miles and never looked like being caught as she clocked an unofficial time of 2:19.17, almost 10 minutes quicker than her debut in New York last year. The 29-year-old began the year by setting a world record of 1:05.50 for the half-marathon, becoming the first woman to run under 66 minutes. And she proved equally adept at double the distance to push the defending champion Liliya Shobukhova of Russia into second, with Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat in third. Jo Pavey enjoyed an excellent marathon debut, finishing 19th in 2:28.23, comfortably inside the qualifying times for both this year’s World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, and next year’s Olympics. The 37-year-old may opt not to compete in Daegu, but seems certain to concentrate fully on the marathon rather than returning to the track. London Marathon Athletics World Athletics Championships Olympics 2012: Athletics guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 17, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.