• London Marathon

Farah finishes eighth on London Marathon debut

ESPN staff
April 13, 2014
Mo Farah missed out on a British record © Getty Images
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Double Olympic champion Mo Farah finished eighth in the London Marathon but still set a new English record on his debut in the event.

The Briton crossed the finishing line with a time of 2:08:21, but he missed out on Steve Jones' British record of 2:07.13 which has stood for 29 years. Farah beat the English record of 2:08.33 set by Charlie Spedding in 1985.

World record holder Wilson Kipsang won the race to collect his second triumph in London, posting a time of 2:04.27 and beating the previous best time for the event by 13 seconds.

Farah, the 5,000 metres and 10,000m Olympic champion, found himself 38 seconds adrift of the leading pack at the halfway mark, and left himself plenty of work to do in order to catch Kipsang.

Farah, who admitted winning the London Marathon would be the "greatest achievement" of his career, has promised to return, telling BBC Sport: "I'm not going to finish it like this. I will be back. It is a matter of experience and learning.

"I gave it a go but I just wish I had given a little bit more to the crowd but the field was tough. It was strong. It was the strongest London marathon field ever but London is my city. I had to do it."

David Weir missed out on a seventh title in the wheelchair race as the Briton finished second to Marcel Hug by one second in a thrilling sprint finish.

Edna Kiplagat won the women's race, overcoming fellow Kenyan Florence Kiplagat and Olympic 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba, who finished third on her debut at the event.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
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