Mutai wins London Marathon in course-record time

LONDON - Emmanuel Mutai ran the fastest-ever London Marathon as Kenyans swept the first three places on Sunday, and compatriot Mary Keitany captured the women's race at her first attempt with a dominating victory.

The 26-year-old Mutai won the 42.2-kilometer (26.2-mile) race for the first time, clocking 2 hours, 4 minutes, 40 seconds for the fourth fastest time for a marathon.

"My dreams have come true because I had in my mind that of the five major marathons if I won one my achievement would have been greater," Mutai said. "I tried my best to push it until the end. It is fantastic because I created two achievements - I won the race and I improved my personal best."

Mutai broke away at the 21-mile (33.8-kilometer) mark, and shattered Olympic champion Sammy Wanjiru's old course record of 2:05:10 from 2009. "At 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) I saw nobody was moving so I decided to push it hard," said Mutai, who won silver at the world championships in Berlin in 2009.

Mutai and Keitany emulated the Kenyan double in London from 2004, with Keitany becoming the fourth women's winner from the east African nation.

Like Mutai, the 29-year-old Keitany ran the fourth fastest marathon by a woman by finishing her London debut in 2:19:19. "The course was flat and the surface was good," Keitany said. "I thought I could run that fast."

After breaking away after the 15-mile (24.1-kilometer) mark, she was almost a minute ahead of defending champion Liliya Shobukhova.