Peres Jepchirchir beats women's-only marathon record in London

Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya, the women's marathon gold medalist of the Tokyo Olympic Games, won the women's London marathon on Sunday and set the event's new record with a time of 2:16:16.

Jepchirchir broke the record of 2:17:01, which was set by her compatriot Mary Keitany in London in 2017. Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia finished in the second place in 2:16:23, much slower than her performance of setting the women's marathon world record at 2:11:53 in Berlin, Germany, last year. Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya was third in 2:16:24.

"I thought the race would be fast and that the record would go, but I was not expecting it to be me," Jepchirchir said. "It's because I believe in myself. As I crossed the finish line, I thought about how grateful I am for this to be my last event representing Kenya before I head to Paris. I now know I have a great chance to defend my title in Paris."

The men's race was a two-way battle between Alexander Mutiso Munyao of Kenya and Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia. The suspense had been there until the final three kilometers. Mutiso Munyao made a move in the final sprint to build a six-second lead and won the race in 2:04:01 in the end.

"I'm happy for winning the race today, and at 40 kilometers, I got some pressure from Kenenisa Bekele but I had a lot of confidence because I trained for this race," Mutiso Munyao said after the victory. "So I said: Let me be confident. After 40 kilometers, I thought I had energy enough to win today's marathon."

Bekele came in second in 2:04:15, followed by home runner Emile Cairess in 2:06:46. Cairess went through some tough time as his cousin survived a car crash recently. He dedicated Sunday's race to his cousin.

"It was a really tough time," Cairess said. "I was emotional this morning. I am so proud to do this for him today. It's not all about the time and the performance."