Wanjiru claims London title

Olympic champion Sammy Wanjiru kept his nerve to win the men’s Flora London Marathon ahead of Beijing bronze-medallist Tsegay Kebede.

Wanjiru, whose attempt to break Haile Gebrselassie’s world record fizzled out just after the halfway point, won in the fastest time of his career – an unofficial course record of two hours, five minutes, 10 seconds.

After breaking up the pack after 19 miles, the Kenyan held off the determined challenge of Ethiopia’s Kebede by 10 seconds with a series of surges.

Jaouad Gharbib of Morocco was third in 2hr 5min 27sec.

Celebrity participants in the annual event included Gordan Ramsay and wife Tana, Katie Price and Peter Andre, and Kate Lawler.