Ethiopia’s Shura Kitata sprung a massive surprise at the London Marathon 2020 where he clocked a time of 2:05:41 to win the men’s elite race, defeating a stacked field, including pre-race favourite and World Record (WR) holder, Eliud Kipchoge.
In what was a much closer affair compared to the women’s race, the men race was all reserved till the athletes went through 35km, the leading pack out with 1:44.14.
Kipchoge gradually began to drop behind the lead pack while Ethiopians, Sisay Lemma, Mosinet Geremew, Shura Kitata, and Kenya’s Vincent Kipchumba hit the front, passing 40km in 1:59:19, well ahead of Kipchoge by 27 seconds.
As they approached the bell, Geremew who finished 2nd in 2019 was dropped off and the lead was whittled down to three.
It was evident it was going down with a sprint finish and at 200m away from the finish, Kenya’s Kipchumba made the move but was marked closely by the Ethiopian who fought past him to clinch the win by a second.
Kipchumba finished 2nd in 2:05:42.
It was a good day for the Ethiopians, as Lemma Sisay picked up 3rd in 2:05:45, followed by Mosinet Geremew in 2:06:04, Mule Wasihun in 2:06:04 and Tamirat Tola in 2:06:41.
Eliud Kipchoge lost his first marathon race since 2013, winding down in 8th with 2:06:49.
