Kenyan thwarts his rival’s bid for glory, while Brits complete the top four and book Olympics places
An eventful men’s elite race at the London Marathon resulted in a surprise winner, a legendary figure coming close to the win he so craved, and two British athletes creating history.
Victory went to Kenya’s Alexander Mutiso Manyao, making his London debut, after he won a compelling duel with the great Kenenisa Bekele to break the tape in 2:04:01. The Ethiopian had the consolation of breaking his world M40 record with 2:04:15 in second.
Alexander Mutiso Munyao (London Marathon Events)
The identity of the third-placed athlete caught the attention of the home crowd, too, as Emile Cairess stamped his ticket for the Paris Olympics thanks to his personal best of 2:06:46, which puts him second on the British all-time lists. Mo Farah’s 2:05:11 remains the national record but it is surely living on borrowed time.
To add further to the cause for celebration, Cairess’s fellow Brit and friend Mahamed Mahamed also produced a superb run to come fourth with 2:07:05, making him the third-fastest Briton ever and also making sure he will be announced on the Olympic team on Monday morning.
It is the first time two British men have finished in the London Marathon’s top four since Hugh Jones and Kevin Forster in 1988.
“I’d have definitely been under 2:06 in good conditions.” @EmileCairess reflects on his sensational performance at the @LondonMarathon 🔥
He finished third in London and went second on the UK all-time marathon list behind @Mo_Farah with 2:06:46 🇬🇧@EmileCairess now wants to… pic.twitter.com/GUOgK0MUmN
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) April 21, 2024
Marc Scott finished 11th in 2:11:19 on his marathon debut, while Callum Hawkins was 16th in 2:17:34.
The British success came shortly after the conclusion of a remarkable race for first place which, at one stage, had looked like it might go the way of the 41-year-old Bekele.
This was his sixth time in London and his previous best had been second place in 2017 and in the pre-event press conference the former 5000m and 10,000m Olympic champion had spoken about his deep desire to finally taste victory and perhaps even prove a point to the Ethiopian Olympic selectors.
Kenenisa Bekele at the London Marathon (LM Events)
Having been sat in a pack with New York champion and race favourite Tamirat Tola – who led the field through halfway in 61:29 – as well as Manyao, plus Ethiopians Mikesa Mengesha…
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