Ethiopian Shura Kitata surprises and wins special edition

Published on : 04/10/2020 – 16:02Modified : 04/10/2020 – 16:07

With our correspondent in London, Muriel Delcroix

Thunderbolt on the London marathon: undefeated for seven years, Eliud Kipchoge broke down at the end of the race and finished only eighth, the victory going to the Ethiopian Shura Kitata after a dantesque sprint. Kitata won in 2h 05 min 41 sec ahead of Kenyan Vincent Kipchumba and his compatriot Sisay Lemma.

The 24-year-old Ethiopian thus won his first major victory after collecting the places of honor: 2nd in London and New York in 2018, 4th in London and 5th in New York in 2019.

In women, the Kenyan Brigid Kosgei won the race for the second year in a row and retains the world record.

Special conditions

For its 40th edition, the London Marathon could not have been more different: organized six months late, orphan of its usual 45,000 participants and their wacky outfits, without Big Ben, Tower Bridge or even the slightest radius of Sun. A marathon in the time of the coronavirus which took place in about twenty looped laps, along St James’s Park and with an arrival under the balconies of Buckingham Palace for the hundred or so professionals present.

Aware of the strangeness of this edition and of the risks in the midst of a pandemic, the organizers insisted on reinforced security measures and on ” sanitary bubble »Created around the athletes and their support teams.

Regularly tested before and during their stay in London, all also had to wear a connected device around their necks emitting sound and light signals in the event of non-respect of distances. However, the participants all took it off during the elbow-to-elbow marathon.