Jepchirchir smashes world record at London Marathon ahead of Olympic defence

Peres Jepchirchir won the London Marathon with a stunning world- record time of two hours 16 minutes and 16 seconds.

And the Kenyan did it in style, breaking the women’s-only record, coming home in two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds.

Jepchirchir finished third in last year’s London Marathon but enjoyed a significant improvement on Sunday, beating Mary Keitany’s previous record in 2017 by 45 seconds.

She stormed towards the finish line down the final straight on The Mall to claim the fastest ever time without male pace makers.

The 30-year-old screamed in celebration as she crossed the line and then dropped to the floor, with her emotion clear to see.

Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia and Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei came second and third respectively, with both also beating the previous record.

Jepchirchir’s historic finish in London puts her in great stead ahead of the 2024 Paris Olmypics this summer.

She won gold in Tokyo in 2021 with a time of two hours, 27 minutes and 20 seconds, her first medal in the illustrious event.

The Kenyan then went one step further by becoming the first person to win Olympic gold and the New York marathon in the same year.

Jepchirchir looks set to be a favourite to win gold once again in Paris in what will be her second ever appearance at the Olympics.

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In the men’s race, Alexander Mutiso Munyao of Kenya won with a time of two hours, four minutes and one second.

Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia finished 14 seconds behind and GB’s Emile Cairess claimed the final podium spot with third.

Around 50,000 runners have taken to the course this year as they navigate their way around London’s iconic sights.