NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 3- Vincent Kipchumba of Kenyan came second again as Ethiopian Sisay Lemma won the 2021 men’s London Marathon title on Sunday.
The win for the Ethiopian saw him to put his Tokyo Olympics disappointment behind him after failing to finish in the race where the great Eliud Kipchoge successfully defended his gold.
Lemma, 30, triumphed in London in a time of 2hr 04min 01sec ahead of Kipchumba who finished second in 2:04.28, with Mosinet Geremew of Ethiopia third in 2:04.41.
The men’s pack was touted as arguably the strongest in history despite the absence of Kenyan four-time London Marathon winner Eliud Kipchoge, with six runners holding best times of under 2h 05min.
Defending champion Shura Kitata of Ethiopia, who failed to finish the Olympic marathon in Sapporo and entered the race carrying a hamstring injury, faded quickly.
The runners passed half-way in 1:01.25 –12 seconds faster than Kipchoge’s split when he set the men’s London Marathon record of 2:02.37 in 2019.
A five-strong pack featuring Kenyans Evans Chebet and Kipchumba and Ethiopia’s Birhanu Legese, Lemma and Geremew broke away as the race progressed.
The London Marathon returned to normality for the first time since 2019 after being held without amateur runners or spectators last year due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The pandemic forced the event to be moved from April to October in 2020, with a small number of elite runners completing laps around St James’s Park.
