Olympic dream comes true for Kipchoge, Kiplagat for Kenya's marathon teams

London Marathon Champion Eliud Kipchoge and women' s third finisher Florence Kiplagat had watched four years ago as their Olympic dream fizzled through the air.

Both had high hopes of making it to London Olympics, but could not make it through the explosive Kenyan trials for 5,000m and 10,000m races respectively.

Four years down the line, they have shifted gears and landed in the marathon distance and have had their dreams restored as they seek to lead Kenyan teams to the Rio Olympics in August. This is after exemplary performances in London marathon on Sunday, which was used as a selection event by Kenya team.

"I was frustrated four years ago. I had done everything right, but was beaten in the trials in 5,000m. It prompted me to move to the marathon and am happy the hurdle for the Rio Olympic selection is cleared. Now I have to focus," Kipchoge said in a telephone interview on Sunday from London.

Kipchoge, who has won silver and bronze at the Olympics on the track, looks destined to represent his country at his third Olympic Games in Rio.

He looked frustrated to miss the world record by eight seconds as he put his head in his hands immediately after finishing but he didn' t express any exasperation in the post-race press conference.

"I realized I was a few seconds off the world record. It was not really disappointment," he reflected, although he had earlier confirmed he had no idea he was so close over the final kilometer to the world record of 2:02:57 set by his compatriot Dennis Kimetto in Berlin two years ago.

World half marathon record-holder Florence Kiplagat didn' t enjoy the best preparation coming into this race but came home third in 2:23:39 while former international race walker Volha Mazuronak, from Belarus, ran a sizeable negative second half split of 70:35 to claim a surprise fourth in a lifetime best of 2:23:54.

Four years ago, Kiplagat saw her dream Olympic quest go up in smoke as she finished fourth in the London marathon with the selectors opting for winner Mary Keitany, Priscah Jeptoo and Edna Kiplagat.

But this time, she has timed her run well and her dream to compete at the Olympic has been realised.

Women' s winner Jemimah Samgong is assured of claiming the other slot while Mary Keitany, who was fifth, has an outside chance to improve on her fourth finish from the London games, four years ago.

The decisive moment for the race came just before the 35km checkpoint when the tight bunching caused a collision with Sumgong, Aselefech Mergia and Mary Keitany all falling hard to the road.

Repeatedly clutching her head as she pursued the leaders, Sumgong seemed to come off the worse in the collision but the Kenyan was the only faller to regain contact with the pack.

Soon after, seemingly against the odds, Sumgong hit the front with real purpose. She never looked back to claim the victory.

Meanwhile, President Uhuru Kenyatta has congratulated Kipchoge and Sumgong for winning the men and women London Marathon races.

Kipchoge retained the men' s title with 2 hours 3 minutes and five seconds, missing the world record by just seven seconds while Sumgong recovered from falling to take her first London title in two hours 22 minutes 58 seconds.

In a statement issued in Nairobi, Kenyatta said the win in London just a week after the Kenya Sevens Rugby team made history by winning the Singapore Sevens Cup final, proved that Kenya remained a powerhouse in sports.

Stanley Biwott finished second in the men' s race with a personal best of 2:03.51 while Florence Kiplagat finished 3rd in the women' s race.
Source: XINHUA