Marathon glory for Kenyan duo

Emmanuel Mutai made it a Kenyan double in the Virgin London Marathon with victory in a new course record of 2:04.38, beating the previous best of 2:05.10 set by Samuel Wanjiru in 2009 and also the fifth-fastest time ever.

The 26-year-old, second here last year, broke away at around the 21-mile mark with three-time winner Martin Lel and Patrick Makau making it a clean sweep for Kenya, Lel just edging out his compatriot in a sprint finish.

In the women's race Mary Keitany smashed her personal best to claim a commanding victory. Keitany broke away after 15 miles and never looked like being caught as she clocked an unofficial time of two hours 19 minutes and 17 seconds, almost 10 minutes quicker than her debut in New York last year.

The 29-year-old began the year by setting a new world record of 1:05.50 for the half-marathon, becoming the first woman to run under 66 minutes. And she proved equally adept at double the distance to relegate defending champion Liliya Shobukhova of Russia into second, with Kenya's Edna Kiplagat in third.

Jo Pavey enjoyed an excellent marathon debut, finishing 19th in 2:28.23, comfortably inside the qualifying times for both this year's World Championships in Daegu and next year's London Olympics.

The 37-year-old may opt not to compete in Daegu, but now seems certain to concentrate fully on the marathon rather than returning to the track.

Britain's David Weir claimed an unprecedented fifth London Marathon wheelchair title with a perfectly-timed sprint finish.

Weir waited until he was within sight of the finish on The Mall before powering past Switzerland's Heinz Frei to become the most successful wheelchair athlete in the event's history.

The 31-year-old from Surrey, who won three gold medals on the track at the IPC World Championships in Christchurch in January, lost a four-minute lead in the race last year when he suffered two punctures.

In the women's race, Shelly Woods came within centimetres of making it a British double when she was pipped on the line by American Amanda McGrory.