Ethiopia's Tigist Tufa won London Marathon 2015 with a time of 2:23:21

Champion: Tufa win's the 2015 Women's London Marathon

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In the women's race, Ethiopia's Tigist Tufa won with a time of 2:23:21, dispelling pre-race predictions that it would the Kenyan's who would dominate in London.

Her time fell just two minutes short of her own personal best of 2:21:52 that she set Shanghai in November last year. Paula Radcliffe's world record time of 2:15:25 set back in 2003 lives on for another year at least.

Lst hurrah: Radcliffe runs her final competitive London MarathonAnd Radcliffe, competing in here final ever competitive marathon, finished with a time of 2:36:55.

The 41-year-old offered a 'thank you' as she waved to crowds gathered outside Buckingham Palace, before embracing her family at the finish line.

"I didn't care about the time all the way round and I just wanted to thank as many people as possible," Radcliffe told the BBC.

"I went off way too fast and then it got more and more emotional. It was just amazing the whole way round."

American Joshua George has won the men's wheelchair race to deny Paralympic champion David Weir his seventh win.Eliud Kipchoge pipped Kenyan compatriot Wilson Kipsang to win the 2015 London Marathon.

Kipsang, who won last year's marathon, was neck and neck with Kipchoge before the 30-year-old cracked it up another gear at the pair closed in on the Mall.

Kipchoge's winning time of 2:04:42 came close to breaking the course record, set by Kipsang the year previous.

By the time the elite runners had reached he half-way stage, running over Tower Bridge, hopes that a new course record could be set started to gather momentum, with Dennis Kimetto, Geoffrey Mutai, Emmanuel Mutai and Wilson Kipsang leading the charge.

Kipsang, of course, had the time to beat. The 33-year-old Kenyan set the men's course record in last year's marathon, finishing with a time of 2:04.29 in 2014.

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Starting line: The elite men set offWith nine kilometres remaining, Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge lead the pack, ahead of Kipsang, with the world record holder Dennis Kimetto lurking closely behind.

The race was set for an enthralling finish, as three of the six fastest marathon runners in history closed in on the Mall.

And it would be Kipsang and Kipchoge, a former world champion, who would be neck and neck to the finish line, as they left the rest of the pack in their wake.  An increase in pace at the death would secure victory for Kipchoge.

Speaking after his triumph, Kipchoge said: "It was a tough race. My training paid off and it went to plan. The crowd were wonderful and lifted me for my sprint finish."

Champion: Kipchoge wins the 2015 London Marathon

IAAF Cross WM Guiyang 2015

Ethiopia’s Negesse & Birhane Dibaba springs Tokyo marathon 2015 marathon, full race

Ethiopia’s Negesse springs Tokyo marathon upset

UPDATED : 02/22/2015 14:19 GMT + 7

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TOKYO, Feb 22 (AFP) - Ethiopia’s Endeshaw Negesse destroyed a quality field including Olympic and world champion Stephen Kiprotich to produce a stunning upset in the Tokyo Marathon today.

Birhane Dibaba completed an Ethiopian double by winning the women’s race to underline the depth of marathon running in the East African country.

Negesse boosted his hopes of being selected for this year’s world championships in Beijing with a masterful run, leaving the favourites floundering in his wake after an explosive final seven kilometres to clock a winning time of two hours and six minutes flat.

“It was a tough race,” the 26-year-old told reporters. “There was a bit of rain and the cold made it hard work but luckily I was able to hang in and win the race. My dream is to go on and make the Ethiopia team for Beijing.”

Ugandan hero Kiprotich, competing in honour of the memory of his baby daughter Elizabeth who passed away from a respiratory illness last month, put in a late burst to pip last year’s winner Dickson Chumba of Kenya to second place.

The London Olympic gold medallist and world title-holder finished a step ahead of Chumba in a personal best of 2:06:33.

Kenyan Dennis Kimetto’s world record of 2:02:57, set in Berlin last year, was never under threat in chilly, drizzly conditions despite the presence of several runners who have gone under 2:05, including two-times London Marathon winner Tsegaye Kebede.

The pint-sized Ethiopian had been jabbering at the pacemakers to speed up over the first half of the race but fell out of the leading pack at the 35-kilometre mark and trailed home in eighth in 2:07:58. Masato Imai was the top Japanese finisher, in seventh place.

Dibaba, runner-up in 2014, won in 2:23:15 while fellow Ethiopian Tiki Gelana, who captured the women’s title at the 2012 London Olympics Games, finished third after arriving in Japan late yesterday because her flight from Europe was delayed by snow.

Security had been beefed up for today’s race with police and fire services on high alert for a terrorist attack, such as the bomb blast that killed three people at the 2013 Boston Marathon.

Mingling with the 36,000 competitors was a crack unit of police runners wearing cameras that capture real-time footage of the course, while more than 6,000 security officials lined the streets of Tokyo.

The ninth running of the Tokyo Marathon marked the start of a new format comprising the world’s top six races -- including Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York -- and offering a US$1 million (RM3.65 million) purse split between the men’s and women’s champions.