It turned out to be 13th time unlucky for the world record holder Eliud Kipchoge as he fluffed his lines at Sunday’s London marathon, won in a thrilling sprint finish by Ethiopian Shura Kitata at the St James’s Park course.

Owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the marathon was limited to elite runners and with no crowds. This is the first marathon Kipchoge hasn’t won since finishing second in Berlin in 2013 — he had won all 11 others he raced in, including the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Dropped at the 38km mark of the 42.2km race, Kipchoge could only watch from a distance as Kitata dug out an extra few mph to outpace Kenyan Vincent Kipchumba in the final straight to win in 2hr 05min 41sec. Ethiopian Sisay Lemma took third.

Kipchumba, who finished his race in 2hr 5min 42sec, looked to open the gap at the top but Kitata powered through in the last 200m. 

The elated Ethiopian gold medalist, speaking to the BBC via an interpreter, said, “Kenenisa Bekele was helping me for this race and he advised me how to run. I trained for the same course, I am very happy to win the race.”

Kipchoge finished in eighth with more than a minute down. 

However, the Kenyan, soon after the race, took to Twitter to reveal that he had ear blockade after the first 25 kilometres and couldn’t open it anymore.

“But this is how sport is, we should accept defeat and focus for the winning next time,” added the 35-year-old.