LONDON (Reuters) - Vivian Cheruiyot shocked favourite and fellow Kenyan Mary Keitany to win the London Marathon for the first time on Sunday but failed to break Paula Radcliffe’s world record as high temperatures took their toll.
Keitany, who set the women’s world record in London last year, ran this year’s race with the aid of male pacemakers, as Radcliffe did in 2003 when setting the unsurpassed time of 2:15.25 to break the “mixed race” record.
Having shot into the lead, the 36-year-old Keitany looked to be on course to break that 15-year record, running 32 seconds quicker than Radcliffe’s 10-mile time, but as the temperature rose above 20 degrees Celsius her pace tailed off, allowing Cheruiyot to steal in.
Brigid Kosgei completed a Kenyan one-two.
Cheruiyot, who won her first marathon in Frankfurt only last October, came out of nowhere to race past Keitany, who struggled over the finish line fifth and remains stuck on three wins in the English capital, one behind Norwegian Ingrid Kristiansen’s career total.
(Reporting by Pete Hall; Editing by Clare Fallon)
