London Marathon: records
could tumble as Mo Farah
takes on rivals
Farah aims to put Addis Ababa row
behind him with victory in London
London Marathon 2019
Sometime shortly after midday on Sunday, it
is predicted the men’s record for the
London marathon will be smashed. It would
be a memorable way of marking this year’s
race, which will see the amount raised for
good causes since it began in 1981 edge
beyond £1bn.
If however the record is untroubled, then
this may be good news for Mo Farah, the
man hundreds of thousands flocking to
London have come to see and who is
embroiled in controversy over a disputed
incident involving a brawl in an Ethiopian
hotel .
Most experts agree that, despite his
remarkable conversion from track
champion to marathon runner, Britain’s Sir
Mo will be left trailing by the current
London record holder, Kenya’s Eliud
Kipchoge, whose time of 2:01:39, set in
Berlin last year, saw the previous world
record obliterated by an astonishing 78
seconds.
Farah concedes he is the underdog. “To be
honest it would be an amazing
achievement [to beat Kipchoge]. My aim is
to win the London Marathon one day, that
is my task, but you can’t take anything for
granted because Eliud is a great athlete and
the world record holder.”
Experts say a slower race, however, might
just give Farah, famous for his kick in the
later stages of track events, a shot at glory.
It would represent a remarkable coup
because, even though the bookies have
Farah as second favourite, a handful of
other runners have beaten his personal
best of 2:05:11, set when he won the
Chicago marathon last October.