Tsegaye Kebede wins London Marathon

London, UK – Former winner Tsegay Kebede of Ethiopia, who controversially missed out on selection for the Ethiopian team for the Olympic Games, got his redemption when he won the Virgin London Marathon in a time of 2:06: 04 here today.

Virgin London Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, on a day when pre-race favourites and Olympic champions suffered.

Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya (2:06:33) and Ayele Abshiro of Ethiopia (2:06:57 ) finished in second and third places respectively. Meanwhile, defending champion Wilson Kipsang (Kenya) finished fifth, one place ahead of Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich (Kenya).

Women’s race

In the women’s category,Priscah Jeptoo of Kenya won in a world-leading time of 2:20.15, followed by fellow Kenyan Edna Kiplagat (2:21:32) and Yukiko Akaba of Japan (2:24:43).

Olympic champion Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia could only finish 16th due to injury she sustained when she collided with a wheelchair racer just after 15km.

Gelana stayed with the leaders past the half way mark, but she soon began to drift back before being reduced to a jog in the latter stages.