Kelvin Kiptum smashed the course record with a 2:01:25 victory at the 2023 TCS London Marathon.
The Kenyan took a sledgehammer to Eliud Kipchoge’s previous mark on the route of 2:02:37, adding to his fast-growing reputation since he registered 2:01:53 in Valencia in December 2022.
Kiptum ran patiently, waiting until between 30 and 35km before taking off. He clocked 4:23 for his 20th mile and his second half was recorded as 59:47 in total.
At one point he was inside Kipchoge’s pace for his 2:01:09 world record, but slipped off that speed as he approached the final few turns on what was a wet day for the elite athletes.
Kiptum now owns the second- and fourth-fastest times in history.
Geoffrey Kamworor finished second, nearly three minutes behind, in 2:04:23, exactly one minute faster than his previous personal best. Tamirat Tola was third in 2:04:59.
Kiptum joins Evans Chebet and Deso Gelmisa as winners of races in Series XV of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, and must now be favourite to take the world title in Budapest this summer should he opt to run.
Having clocked the second fastest time in history, the temptation will also be huge to test himself when the Majors resume in Berlin in September.
The scene of both of Kipchoge’s world record performances, the German capital may well be viewed by the 23-year-old as the perfect place to make his next assault on the 2:01:09 mark.
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