Yalemzerf Yehualaw recovered from a fall over a speed bump at around 32km to claim a dramatic yet incredible victory in the London Marathon today, recording a stunning time of 2:17:26.
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The 23-year-old Ethiopian retained her composure despite suffering the mid-race mishap to become the youngest woman in history to win this iconic race.
Yehualaw made her winning break just inside the final 5km, producing a relentless burst of acceleration to kick clear of defending champion, Joyciline Jepkosgei and on to a magnificent win – just three seconds shy of her Ethiopian record.
An ecstatic Yehualaw said: “I am so happy to win here in London. I have worked very hard to prepare for this race and to take the victory is amazing.”
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Yehualaw, the second fastest half marathoner in history and world 10km record holder, ran the fastest ever women’s time by a marathon debutant to win the Hamburg Marathon (2:17:23) in April this year – a performance which elevated her to seventh on the all-time lists.
In the men’s marathon, Amos Kipruto won on his London debut with 2:04.39, while Leul Gebresilase finished second (2:05:12) after a very strong race, followed by his team mates Kenenisa Bekele in fifth (2:05:53) and Birhanu Legese in sixth (2:06:11).