2010 London Marathon

The logo of the Virgin London Marathon. Virgin took over sponsorship of the marathon from Flora in 2009 ready for the 2010 race
The leaders of the elite men's race, including Kenya's Abel Kirui, who finished in fifth place
Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede (the eventual winner) and Kenya's Samuel Wanjiru (who retired due to injury)
The marathon approaching the 25 km (16 mi) point
Approaching the 25 km (16 mi) point
Two wheelchair racers in the marathon

The 2010 London Marathon took place on Sunday, 25 April 2010. Up to 36,000 people are thought to have taken part,[1] a record for the event.[2] The men's event was won by Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia with a time of 2:05:19 and the women's event by Liliya Shobukhova of Russia with a time of 2:22:00. Shobukhova became the first Russian to win the event[3] while Kebede became the first non-Kenyan to win the men's event in seven years.[4] The men's wheelchair event was won by Josh Cassidy of Canada with a time of 1:35:21 while Wakako Tsuchida of Japan won the women's wheelchair event.[1]

The event saw 74 world record attempts, including one involving 34 runners bound together by bungee cord to form a "human caterpillar", among whom was Princess Beatrice of York, the fifth in line to the British throne, who became the first royal to participate in the marathon.[5] Of the attempts, 41 were successful.[2][6] The marathon was sponsored by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, having signed a five-year contract, taking over from previous sponsors, Flora.[5] Branson also ran the marathon for his first time.[5]

Prior to the marathon, there had been concerns that the air-travel disruption caused by the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull could disrupt the event, though many athletes from outside of the United Kingdom were brought in by an aircraft specially chartered from Spain.[2]

Both of the 2009 winners, Samuel Wanjiru and Irina Mikitenko, were present to defend their titles. However, neither athlete managed to finish the race as they both stopped around the mid-way point.[7]

Results

Elite races

Elite Men[8]
Position Athlete Nationality Time
1 Tsegaye Kebede  Ethiopia 2:05:19
2 Emmanuel Mutai  Kenya 2:06:23
3 Jaouad Gharib Morocco Morocco 2:06:55
4 Abderrahime Bouramdane Morocco Morocco 2:07:33
5 Abel Kirui  Kenya 2:08:04
6 Marilson Gomes dos Santos  Brazil 2:08:46
7 Zersenay Tadese Eritrea Eritrea 2:12:03
8 Andrew Lemoncello  United Kingdom 2:13:40
9 Yonas Kifle Eritrea Eritrea 2:14:39
10 Andi Jones  United Kingdom 2:16:38
Elite Women[8]
Position Athlete Nationality Time
1 Liliya Shobukhova  Russia 2:22:00
2 Aselefech Mergia  Ethiopia 2:22:38
3 Bezunesh Bekele  Ethiopia 2:23:17
4 Askale Tafa  Ethiopia 2:24:39
5 Yukiko Akaba  Japan 2:24:55
6 Xue Bai  China 2:25:18
7 Kim Smith  New Zealand 2:25:21
8 Mari Ozaki  Japan 2:25:43
9 Mara Yamauchi  United Kingdom 2:26:16
10 Svetlana Zakharova  Russia 2:31:00
DSQ Inga Abitova  Russia 2:22:19[9]

Wheelchair races

Men's event[10]
Position Athlete Nationality Time
1 Josh Cassidy  Canada 01:35:21
2 Marcel Hug   Switzerland 01:36:07
3 David Weir  United Kingdom 01:37:01
4 Kota Hokinoue  Japan 01:40:59
5 Kurt Fearnley  Australia 01:41:37
6 Ernst van Dyk  South Africa 01:44:11
7 Masazumi Soejima  Japan 01:44:35
8 Roger Verdaguer  Spain 01:44:36
9 Joshua George  United States 01:46:57
10 Mark Telford  United Kingdom 01:48:43
Women's event[11]
Position Athlete Nationality Time
1 Wakako Tsuchida  Japan 01:52:33
2 Sandra Graf   Switzerland 01:52:34
3 Amanda McGrory  United States 01:52:36
4 Nikki Emmerson  United Kingdom 02:17:46
5 Sarah Piercy  United Kingdom 02:33:50
6 Shelly Woods  United Kingdom 02:45:40

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede takes men's London Marathon". BBC Sport (BBC). 25 April 2010. Archived from the original on 27 April 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Garrod, Sarah (25 April 2010). "World records shattered as thousands run London Marathon". Inthe news.co.uk. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  3. ↑ "Record breaking royal Princess Beatrice completes the London Marathon". Hello! (Hello Ltd). 26 April 2010. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  4. ↑ Phillips, Tom (26 April 2010). "London Marathon: thousands brave rain to complete course". Metro (Associated Newspapers). Archived from the original on 29 April 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Briggs, Simon (26 April 2010). "London Marathon 2010: Princess Beatrice's caterpillar convoy lets good times roll". The Daily Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group). Archived from the original on 28 April 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  6. ↑ "Beatrice is first British royal to run London Marathon". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). 26 April 2010. Archived from the original on 28 April 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  7. ↑ Brown, Matthew (2010-04-25). Commanding victories for Kebede and Shobukhova - London Marathon report. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-10-15.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Virgin London Marathon 2010 Results". Virgin London Marathon. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  9. ↑ Inga Abitova handed two year doping ban. Virgin London Marathon. (8 November 2012). Retrieved on 2014-05-04.
  10. ↑ "Virgin London Marathon 2010 Results- men's wheelchair race". Virgin London Marathon. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  11. ↑ "Virgin London Marathon 2010 Results- women's wheelchair race". Virgin London Marathon. Retrieved 27 April 2010.