London Marathon 2015: Kipsang and Kimetto to race for first time
Last updated on .From the section Athletics
Defending champion Wilson Kipsang and world record holder Dennis Kimetto will go head-to-head in the 2015 London Marathon on 26 April.
Compatriot Kimetto clocked two hours, two minutes 57 seconds in September's Berlin Marathon to shave 26 seconds off Kipsang's 2013 world record.
"I broke Wilson's world record in Berlin last year and now I want the London title," said Kimetto.
| Men's marathon world record decade-by-decade | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Time | Athlete | Course |
| 1947 | 2:25.39 | Suh Yun-bok (Korea) | Boston |
| 1958 | 2:15.17 | Sergei Popov (Soviet Union) | Stockholm |
| 1969 | 2:08.33 | Derek Clayton (Australia) | Antwerp |
| 1988 | 2:06.50 | Belayneh Dinsamo (Ethiopia) | Rotterdam |
| 1999 | 2:05.42 | Khalid Khannouchi (Morocco) | Chicago |
| 2008 | 2:03.59 | Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) | Berlin |
| 2014 | 2:02.57 | Dennis Kimetto (Kenya) | Berlin |
Kipsang and Kimetto, 30, are training partners in the Kenyan town of Iten but have never faced each other over the marathon distance.
There are 10 runners in the men's field who have gone under two hours six minutes, including multiple track Olympic and world 10,000 and 5,000m champion and world record holder Kenenisa Bekele.
Emmanuel Mutai, the 2011 London winner, is also competing.
British interest includes Scott Overall, a 2012 Olympian who was fifth at the Berlin Marathon in 2011.
