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Sammy Wanjiru wins London marathon in course record time
Sammy Wanjiru, second left, crosses Tower Bridge on his way to victory in the London marathon. Photograph: Felipe Trueba/EPA
Kenya's Sammy Wanjiru has won the London Marathon in a course record time.
Wanjiru, the Olympic champion, held his nerve to cross the line in an unofficial time of 2 hours 5 minutes and 10 seconds, just 10 seconds ahead of Beijing bronze-medallist Tsegay Kebede.
Wanjiru, whose attempt to break Haile Gebrselassie's world record fizzled out just after the halfway point, won in the fastest time of his career. After breaking up the pack after 19 miles, the Kenyan held off the determined challenge of Ethiopia's Kebede with a series of surges. Jaouad Gharbib of Morocco came third in 2hr 5min 27sec.
In the women's event Great Britain's Mara Yamauchi was denied victory by a dominant display from defending champion Irina Mikitenko.
Yamauchi produced the finest performance of her career and remained in contention until around six miles from the finish when Germany's Mikitenko put in the first of two powerful surges on her way to an comfortable victory.
Mikitenko won in an unofficial time of two hours, 22min, 11sec to earn a third marathon title. Yamauchi, whose previous best placing in London was sixth, achieved her pre-race ambitions of a podium finish by taking the silver medal in a personal best time of 2hr 23min 12sec.
Athletics: Kenya's Sammy Wanjiru wins London marathon | Sport | guardian.co.uk
