Reuters
LONDON // The double Olympics champion Mo Farah struggled in his highly anticipated marathon debut, with the Briton trailing in eighth as Kenyans Wilson Kipsang and Edna Kiplagat secured London titles on Sunday.
Farah, the world and Olympics champion at 5,000 and 10,000 metres, was given a “tough” welcome by the world’s best marathoners, finishing almost four minutes behind the world-record holder Kipsang on a sunny morning in the British capital.
Farah was never in contention after dropping behind the leaders from the start. He finished in two hours, eight minutes and 21 seconds, well outside Steve Jones’s British record of 2:07:13, set in 1985.
“That was tough. I’m very disappointed,” Farah said. “I didn’t really know what to expect. Training went well. The crowds were exciting and really helped me along.
“It was a little bit windy and I didn’t really have a plan. I’ll definitely be back.”
Kipsang, 32, won a second London title with a course-record 2:04:29. Compatriot Stanley Biswott was 26 seconds back, with the Ethiopian Tsegaye Kebede third.
“The pacemakers went too early for me so I had to push myself,” said Kipsang, who also won in 2012, the same year he won Olympic bronze around the streets of London. “At around 31 kilometres I decided to push harder as I felt very comfortable and strong. And then I pushed again towards the finish line and that was when I broke away.”
Edna Kiplagat won her first London title after finishing runner-up in the past two years, getting the better of compatriot Florence Kiplagat in the final 200 metres to win in 2:20:21.
The winner outkicked her namesake, who finished three seconds behind after the pair had dropped the debutant Tirunesh Dibaba, stepping up from the track, where she enjoyed a glittering career.
“Towards the end of the race I tried to push a few times but she was always there,” Edna Kiplagat, who retained her world title in Moscow last year, said of her battle with the world half-marathon record holder. “I felt strong so I wasn’t too worried.”
Ethiopian Dibaba, a three-time Olympic track champion, was still in contention when she blundered at a drinks station, stopping to pick up her dropped water bottle and losing valuable time on the front pair.
“When my bottle fell, I tried to pick it up because it’s important to me,” she said after finishing third, 14 seconds behind the winner.
“That made me lose lots of time with the lead runners. I was feeling pretty good but it’s difficult to lose so much time against top athletes.”
Farah said his fans can expect to see him at another marathon.
“I’m not going to finish it like this,” he told the BBC. “I gave it my all, but I’m disappointed I didn’t go out there and give what the crowd deserve.”
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