Kenyan Alexander Mutiso won the London Marathon for the first time in his career on Sunday in 2 hours, 4 minutes and 1 second, succeeding his compatriot Kelvin Kiptum, who died in February in a road accident.
Second in Valencia (Spain) in December, Mutiso broke away in the last kilometers to cross the line in front of the experienced Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele (2h04:15) and the Briton Emile Cairess (02h06:46).
The Frenchman Hassan Chahdi placed fifth with a time (2h07:30) which will not allow him to compete in the Olympic Games in Paris. He had to beat the French record held by Morhad Amdouni, which he did not manage to do.
The race was orphaned this year by the previous winner Kelvin Kiptum, the fastest marathon runner in history, who died at the age of 24 in a road accident alongside his coach.
His face was displayed in black and white on giant screens and participants applauded for thirty seconds in his memory before the start.
“May he rest in peace,” Mutiso then declared, after his victory, on the BBC microphone.