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LONDON – Kenya's Olympic champion Perez Jepchirchir made a late run to win the women's London Marathon on Sunday, cementing her status as the favorite to defend her gold medal in Paris.
Jepchirchir had by far the strongest finish, easily leaving world record holder Tigst Assefa and two other rivals behind as he raced solo down the final straight in front of Buckingham Palace.
She finished in 2 hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds, with Assefa in second and Joycilin Jepkosgei in third.
This was more than four minutes slower than Assefa's world record in Berlin last year, but it was the fastest women's marathon time ever, beating Mary Keitany's 2:17:01 set in London in 2017.
The elite women's race in London will start approximately 30 minutes earlier than the elite men's race.
