Tsegaye Kebede and Priscah Jeptoo Win in London

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:39:02 GMT

Source: www.takethemagicstep.com --- Monday, April 22, 2013
The London Marathon sends a strong signal of solidarity after the attacks in Boston, and in an exciting race before hundreds of thousands of spectators, the Ethiopian Tsegaye Kebede and the Kenyan Priscah Jeptoo run to victory. ...

2013 London Marathon: Tsegaye Kebede wins again

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:00:06 GMT

Source: www.stridenation.com --- Monday, April 22, 2013
Tsegaye Kebede won the 2013 London Marathon on Sunday, besting one of the greatest elite men fields ever assembled in a time of 2:06:04 . It's the Ethiopian's second win at the race, having won it in 2010. Kebede managed to catch -- and pass -- Kenya's Emmanuel Mutai, who began tiring over the final 4-5 miles. Mutai, winner of the 2011 London Marathon, went on to finish second (2:06:33), while Ayele Abshero (Ethiopia) was third (2:06:57). Patrick Makau, the world record holder in the marathon, finished in 11th place (2:14:10) and was never much of a factor in the race. Patrick Rizzo was the top American finisher, coming in 12th place (2:16:05). The difference for Kebede may have come at the beginning of race, when the pace went out at an absurd sub-2:02 marathon, and the Ethiopian chose to hold back. "I was thinking, are they going to keep this pace going on?" said double Olympic champion Mo Farah , who was scheduled to run only first half of the marathon, but dropped out just before the 13.1-mile mark. Farah will make his marathon debut at London in 2013. Pacemaker Kigen went through halfway in a blistering 1:01:34, and 25K in 1:12:58, running the 5 kilometers from 20 to 30K in 14:30. Shortly after that, four men got away from the rest of the field: Kenyans Emmanuel Mutai and Stanley Biwott and Ethiopians Feyisa Lilesa and Ayele Abshero. Kebede found himself 19 seconds behind the leaders by the time he crossed the 30K mark. Howev ...