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."