London Marathon: Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands and Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya make history

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: Alex Davidson / GETTY IMAGES EUROPE / Getty Images via AFP 17:47 p.m., April 23, 2023

One won the first marathon of her career, the second signed the second time in history, both marked the spirits: the Dutch Sifan Hassan and the Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum won Sunday a London marathon of very high quality. Before London, Hassan, Olympic champion in the 5000m and 10,000m in Tokyo in 2021 (a historic spoil embellished with a bronze medal in the 1500m), had never run the distance and, before starting the outdoor track and field athletics season, came to test herself with a view to the Paris Games next year.

Kiptum had already impressed by becoming the third best performer in history (2:01.53) in his first marathon, in Valencia in December. Only the legendary Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele had better times. This time, under the drizzle and in the greyness, he was even faster than in Valencia (2:01:25), failing just 16 seconds off the world record of the one who is considered the best marathoner in history, his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge (2:01:09), set in September 2022 in Berlin.

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Record under threat

But this brand now seems very threatened by this new Kenyan phenomenon, only 23 years old, who seems determined not to forbid anything. Not even the mythical two-hour mark: Kiptum signed a second half of the race in cannon fire (59:47).

Very comfortable at the beginning of the race, he placed a violent acceleration after 1h30 of racing. It immediately gave him several steps ahead of the rest of the leading group who withered away and from where Bekele had been quickly ejected. The Kenyan finished far ahead of his compatriot Geoffrey Kamworor and Ethiopian Tamirat Tola, world champion in the discipline.

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A first masterpiece

This coup d'éclat came after a first masterpiece, the one signed by Hassan. At 30 years old, the Dutchwoman is already a legend of athletics, on the track. But she was making her marathon debut and no one really knew what she had to offer. On the women's side, after the retirement in the first minutes of the winner in 2019 and 2020 and world record holder, Kenyan Brigid Kosgei, the race seemed open. But at the start of the race, Hassan looked more of a curiosity than a real favorite against much more experienced runners, such as Kenyan Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir.

After an hour of running, she even seemed to stall, forced to slow down to stretch at the left hip, falling a little behind the leading group. But she hung on and without forcing, she gradually made her delay to take back the four leading women, taking advantage of a weakening tempo in front. With 500 metres to go, she was battling Ethiopia's Alemu Megertu (2nd) and Jepchirchir (3rd), but the track specialist's superior top speed made her the most obvious contender for sprint victory. His last acceleration left no chance for Megertu and Jepchirchir, to allow him to finish the line in a respectable time (2h18:33).

"I never thought I'd finish it and I not only finished but I won," Hassan told the BBC minutes after his arrival. "It's just amazing, I'll never forget that in my life. I had so much fun. Everyone told me the marathon hurt, but I felt really good, even after 5km or 15km. When I saw the finish line, I thought, 'Is that already there?'" she said.