Kelvin Kiptum won the 2023 London Marathon men’s elite race in record time. The Kenyan recorded the second-fastest marathon time ever at 2:01:25. Here’s what you need to know:
- Kiptum finished 16 seconds shy of the all-time record set by compatriot Eliud Kipchoge’s last September in the Berlin Marathon.
- Kiptum, 23, covered the second half of the London course in 59:45.
- His record finish came minutes after Sifan Hassan won the women’s race with a sprint finish in 2:18:33. Sunday marked Hassan’s marathon debut.
- Four-time Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah completed the course in 2:10.28 and finished the men’s elite race in ninth. He said London would be his final marathon.
2:01:25 🤯
The second quickest marathon of all time.
Take a bow Kelvin Kiptum! 🇰🇪#LondonMarathon #WeRunTogether pic.twitter.com/P3ScIY5z0L
— TCS London Marathon (@LondonMarathon) April 23, 2023
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Do we have a new GOAT contender?
Kiptum is here to stay. Less than five months after he ran the fastest debut marathon in history (a 2:01:53 in Valencia), the 23-year-old dropped a mind-boggling 59:45 second half split in London to run the second-fastest time ever.
Less than a week after Kipchoge’s disappointing performance in Boston, it’s only natural to wonder if…
