He was hoping the victory would be enough to earn him a spot on Kenya’s powerhouse Olympic team for the Paris marathon in August.
“I think I am capable to run in Olympics,” he said.
The 41-year-old Bekele who has raced to three Olympic titles on the track and a remarkable 17 world titles in outdoor and indoor track and cross-country was second in 2:04.15.
Emile Cairess took third in 2:06.46, all but clinching his spot on Britain’s Olympic team.
“It pretty much means I am selected, I am in the team.” Cairess said. “It was a risk (to race) but it paid off.”
Cairess dedicated his race to his cousin who survived a serious car crash recently.
“It was a really tough time,” the 26-year-old 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.”
Thirty seconds of applause marked the start of the men’s race in memory of world record-holder and last year’s winner Kelvin Kiptum, who died in a car accident in February, at the age of 24.
Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia, who clocked 2:11.53 at the Berlin Marathon in September to set a world record for women in a race alongside male runners, crossed second in the women’s race in 2:16.23.
Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya, the 2021 London winner, was third in 2:16.24.
Marcel Hug won the men’s wheelchair race, while Swiss team mate Catherine Debrunner won the women’s event.
Approximately 50,000 runners were expected to cross the finish line of the 42.2-km race that snaked along the River Thames on a breezy, 10 degrees Celsius day, making this year’s edition the largest ever London Marathon.
https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/jepchirchir-crushes-womens-only-world-record-wins-london-marathon/
