Martin Lel of Kenya sprinted to victory in the London Marathon yesterday in 2:07.41 to regain the men's title he won in 2005.

There was disappointment for Haile Gebrselassie, who did not finish the race, while marathon world record holder Paul Tergat fell off the pace in the final two km to finish sixth.

Lel, who was outsprinted last year by compatriot Felix Limo, was not about to let the same thing happen again and held off Morocco's Abderrahim Goumri in the race for the line.

Goumri, competing in his first marathon, was second, three seconds behind Lel. Defending champion Limo took third in 2:07.47.

Zhou Chunxiu became the first Chinese London Marathon champion when she won the women's race in two hours 20 minutes 38 seconds.

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