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The 23-year-old was in a class of his own in the London Marathon but has revealed that his focus was just on winning the race
London Marathon champion Kelvin Kiptum has explained that a world record was not on his mind following his blistering run that saw him miss it by just 16 seconds on Sunday.
The 23-year-old clocked 2:01:25, the second-fasted time ever in a marathon, as he won the race by almost three minutes, becoming the first athlete to run a sub-2:02 time on the London course.
His time was 16 seconds just shy of the world record of 2:01:09 set by Eliud Kipchoge in Berlin last year and more than a minute inside the two-time Olympic champion’s 2019 course record set in 2019 but he has now revealed that a world record was not on his mind.
“I’m very happy to run the second fastest time in history,” he said afterwards. “My preparation was good, and I was very happy to race in London. The cheering gave me great motivation.”
“I thought I could run 2:03, even 2:02,” added Kiptum. “But I didn’t think I’d be close to the world record. Even in the last few miles, I wasn’t thinking about it. Maybe next year.”
It wasn’t just Kiptum’s time that caught the eye, but the manner of his victory, for he dominated the race from the start, leading through almost every check point before kicking in an incredible second-half surge timed at 59:45, by far the fastest ever.
Kiptum seemed undaunted by the talent around him, leading nine men through the speedy early stages and over Tower Bridge to pass halfway in 61:40, a touch outside their target time, but with the course record well in their sights.
It wasn’t going to fall to the great Ethiopian, Kenenisa Bekele, for the fastest man in the field soon began to lose touch, the 40-year-old outrun by his younger rivals.
None younger than Kiptum, who slowly began his charge around the Isle of Dogs, picking up speed to reach 30km near Canary Wharf in 1:27:23, a 14:30 5km split that shredded the group.
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