Ethiopia’s Jemima Sumgong completed a remarkable comeback to win the London Marathon women’s race after smashing her head against the tarmac during a heavy fall just five miles from the finish line.
Appearing to wobble when checking her watch near the 21-mile mark, Sumgong was clipped from behind in a collision that saw her hit the deck along with fellow Ethiopian Aselefech Mergia and Kenya’s Mary Keitany.
While the fall knocked the stuffing out of Mergia and Keitany, Sumgong sprang back to her feet and, holding her forehead, rejoined the leading group before hitting the front and winding up the pace as she went.
Eventually left with only last year’s winner Tigist Tufa for company, Sumgong pulled clear in the closing stages to triumph in two hours 22.58 minutes, with Keitany five seconds further back.
Alyson Dixon won the battle of the British women, beating Sonia Samuels as both athletes secured their spots at the Rio Olympics.
Dropped by the east African contingent after barely a few hundred metres, the five elite British women settled into their own race within a race, aided by two pacemakers told to go take the Olympic hopefuls through under the qualifying mark of two hours 31 minutes.
Susan Partridge was the first to feel the pinch, falling off the group soon after halfway, after which she was joined by Freya Ross and marathon debutant Charlotte Purdue.
That left Samuels and Dixon – the two British women with the Rio qualifying times already under their belt going into this race – clear to fight it out without having to worrying about times.
David Weir failed in his bid to win a seventh men’s wheelchair race in the capital, outsprinted in the final few hundred metres to finish third as Switzerland’s Marcel Hug triumphed. The dominant American Tatyana McFadden won a fourth successive women’s wheelchair race.