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Sunday 17 April 2011

London Marathon 2011 winners: Mary Keitany and Emmanuel Mutai glory for Kenya


Emmanuel Mutai made it a Kenyan double after winning the Virgin London Marathon in a new course record.


Earlier, his compatriot Mary Keitany smashed her personal best to claim a commanding victory in the women's race.



Mutai's time of 2:04.38, beats the previous best of 2:05.10 set by Samuel Wanjiru in 2009 and also the fifth-fastest time ever.


The 26-year-old, second here last year, broke away at around the 21-mile mark with three-time winner Martin Lel and Patrick Makau making it a clean sweep for Kenya - Lel just edging out his countryman in a sprint finish.



Britain's David Weir claimed an unprecedented fifth Virgin London Marathon wheelchair title with a perfectly-timed sprint finish.


Weir waited until he was within sight of the finish on The Mall before powering past Switzerland's Heinz Frei to become the most successful wheelchair athlete in the event's history.


The victory completes a memorable week after he discovered on Tuesday his partner Emily is expecting a baby boy in August.


Keitany broke away after 15 miles and never looked like being caught as she clocked an unofficial time of two hours 19 minutes and 17 seconds, almost 10 minutes quicker than her debut in New York last year.


The 29-year-old began the year by setting a new world record of 1:05.50 for the half-marathon, becoming the first woman to run under 66 minutes.


And she proved equally adept at double the distance to relegate defending champion Liliya Shobukhova of Russia into second, with Kenya's Edna Kiplagat in third.


Jo Pavey enjoyed an excellent marathon debut, finishing 19th in 2:28.23, comfortably inside the qualifying times for both this year's World Championships in Daegu and next year's London Olympics.


The 37-year-old may opt not to compete in Daegu, but now seems certain to concentrate fully on the marathon rather than returning to the track.



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