Alexander Mutiso Munyao’s late surge brought him a first Abbott World Marathon Majors victory at the TCS London Marathon.
The 24-year-old Kenyan had the great veteran Kenenisa Bekele as his only rival in the final miles, and the 41-year-old looked the stronger of the two as he put in a series of quick miles to test the younger man.
But the Ethiopian’s energy levels began to drop as the pair battled down the Embankment, and Munyao, who announced himself on the scene in Valencia last December with 2:03:11 for second place, began to stride away.
Munyao opened a gap to Bekele and sailed home in 2:04:01 for his maiden Majors win.
Bekele clocked 2:04:15 to take four seconds off the masters world record he set when he was fourth behind Munyao in Valencia.
Munyao will now hope this performance propels him intocontention for the highly talented Kenyan Olympic squad.
There was British success in front of a raucous home crowd as Emile Cairess claimed third with a time of 2:06:46 and Mahamed Mahamed was fourth in 2:07:05, the first time since 1988 that two British men finished in the top four in London.
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