On April 22, 2018, the London Marathon kicked off, with Queen Elizabeth II firing the starting gun in front of Windsor Castle. In the end, Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge won the men's title with a time of 2:04:27, and Kenya's 'Marathon Queen' Vivian Cheruiyot won the women's title with a time of 2:18:30. British star Mo Farah finished third with a time of 2:06:32, setting a new personal best and a new British national record.

This year marks the 110th anniversary of the first standard-distance marathon held in London, and Queen Elizabeth II personally attended the starting ceremony. The lineup for this race was star-studded. Before the race, many athletes were expected to break world records. However, temperatures above 20°C affected the athletes' performances.

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Top athletes gathered, making the competition exceptionally fierce.

This year's London Marathon elite runners were divided into three major camps: Kenya, Ethiopia, and the UK. As the host, the UK's hope of replicating last week's Boston Marathon home victory was slim, given the presence of elite runners from the two long-distance powerhouses, Kenya and Ethiopia.

Among the men's elite runners, three had times under 2:04, and seven had times under 2:06. Among the women's elite runners, two had times under 2:18, and four had times under 2:20. The men's race featured top athletes like Eliud Kipchoge, Kenenisa Bekele, Mo Farah, Daniel Wanjiru, and Tamirat Tola.

In 2017, Daniel Wanjiru defeated Ethiopia's 'King of the 10,000 meters' Kenenisa Bekele and Olympic gold medalist Eliud Kipchoge to win the London Marathon.

This year's race also featured big names like Eliud Kipchoge, the 2015 and 2016 champion. British middle and long-distance star Mo Farah was participating for the second time; in his 2014 debut, he finished eighth with a time of 2:08:21.

Stanley Biwott, the 2015 New York Marathon champion, had twice finished second in the London Marathon in 2014 and 2016. In the 2016 season, he ran his personal best of 2:03:51 in London.

Zersenay Tadese, born in Eritrea in 1989, was participating in the London Marathon for the third consecutive year. Abel Kirui, the 2016 Chicago Marathon champion, had participated in the London Marathon five times before, winning a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

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Kipchoge wins his third title, Farah makes history.

After the start, the leading men's group did not separate much, with nine runners besides the four pacemakers. The 5km split was 13:48, with strong runners like Kipchoge, Kirui, Bekele, and Mo Farah in the lead group.

The 10km split was 28:19, and the 15km split was 43:05. Although only two pacemakers remained, the nine runners were still within 4 seconds of each other. Mo Farah, wearing fluorescent sleeves, even ran out of the group to greet the spectators. However, some runners began to fall behind. The 20km split was 57:52, leaving only seven runners in the lead group. The half-marathon split was 1:01:00, and the 25km split was 1:12:36, with Kipchoge leading and Mo Farah moving up to third.

The 30km split was 1:27:24, and the lead group had completely separated, with only Tola closely following Kipchoge, while Bekele was 1:06 behind. The 35km split was 1:42:33, with Kipchoge and Tola running side by side, and Mo Farah 42 seconds behind in third. Kipchoge then accelerated, leaving his competitors behind. By 40km, he was 11 seconds ahead of Tola.

In the end, Kipchoge won his third London Marathon title with a time of 2:04:17. Ethiopia's Tola finished second with a time of 2:04:49, and British runner Mo Farah set a national record with a time of 2:06:21, finishing third.

In the women's race, the anticipated 'duel' did not last long, and Mary Keitany's bid for a fourth title was thwarted by Kenya's veteran Vivian Cheruiyot.

Led by the male pacemakers, Keitany and Tirunesh Dibaba aimed for a record-breaking pace from the start. At 5km, Dibaba clocked 15:46, with Keitany 1 second behind. Kosgei and Cherono were 10 seconds behind them, and a chasing group of five was already 30 seconds behind. At 10km, Dibaba clocked 31:46, with Keitany still 1 second behind, while Kosgei and Cherono clocked 32:15, leaving only four in the chasing group.

At 15km, with a time of 47:46, Keitany and Dibaba were running side by side. Kosgei and Cherono, both at 48:42, were nearly a minute behind, while Cheruiyot, at 49:18, had broken away from the chasing group and was closing the gap. The three runners in the chasing group were nearly 2 minutes behind and out of sight.

Around the 50-minute mark, the defending champion began to take the lead. Three minutes later, she had gradually pulled away from Dibaba, running alone. At 20km, she clocked 1:03:50, leading Dibaba by 15 seconds. The second group, consisting of Kosgei, Cheruiyot, and Cherono, was 1:41 behind Keitany. At the halfway mark, Keitany clocked 1:07:16, with Dibaba and the chasing group 23 seconds and 1:40 behind, respectively.

At 25km, Keitany clocked 1:20:24. Dibaba was 29 seconds behind and appeared to be struggling, while the chasing group had reduced the gap to 1:32. At 30km, the defending champion clocked 1:37:03, with Dibaba 52 seconds behind. The chasing group was down to Kosgei and Cheruiyot, who had reduced the gap to 1:16.

Around 1:42, Dibaba seemed to have physical issues, struggling to walk a few steps but not dropping out. Keitany also appeared to have problems, with her lead shrinking. At 35km, she clocked 1:54:36, with Cheruiyot only 12 seconds behind and Kosgei 34 seconds behind. Shortly after, Cheruiyot overtook Keitany to lead alone, while the defending champion fell back.

At 40km, Cheruiyot clocked 2:11:08, leading Kosgei by 1:22. Tadelech Bekele was third, with Keitany dropping to fourth, 3:15 behind the leader and out of contention for the title. In the end, Cheruiyot won her first London Marathon title with a time of 2:18:31. Kosgei and Bekele finished second and third with times of 2:20:13 and 2:21:30, respectively, all setting personal bests. Keitany finished fifth.

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Organizers' blunder: Farah's time changed three times.

British star Mo Farah finished third in the London Marathon, setting a new British national record. The previous record of 2:07:13 was set by Steve Jones 33 years ago. However, Farah's final time was confirmed only after three revisions—2:06:21.

Farah was originally a track and field middle and long-distance star. After the London World Championships last year, he announced his transition to road racing.

In the 2014 London Marathon, Farah's first participation, he finished eighth with a time of 2:08:21. This year was his second participation, and he had expressed hopes of breaking the British national record (2:07:13) or the European men's marathon record (2:05:48) before the race.

During the race, Farah performed steadily, especially in the latter stages, consistently staying in the lead group. He eventually finished third, with the on-site electronic display showing his time as 2:06:21, breaking Steve Jones' 33-year-old British national record by over 50 seconds.

However, the official results later announced by the London Marathon showed Farah's time as 2:06:32, 11 seconds slower. After an investigation, the organizers confirmed that the initial time was correct, and Farah's new national record was officially recognized as 2:06:21. Farah thus surpassed Steve Jones from 1985, becoming the fastest marathon runner in British history.

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