GOAT! Kipchoge hailed after London treble

Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge was hailed as the greatest marathon runner ever as he powered to his third London Marathon title on Sunday.

Kipchoge  fende off Ethiopia’s Tola Shura Kitata and home favourite Mo Farah to capture his hattrick in 2:04:27, finishing more than half a minute ahead of Kitata (2:05:00), with Farah third (2:06:32).

The victory represented his ninth in 10 marathons since making his debut in 2013 with his only defeat coming at the Berlin Marathon five years ago when Wilson Kipsang broke the world record.

His latest victory saw the 33-year-old join compatriot Martin Lel and Mexican Dionicio Ceron as the only men to win at the British capital three times.

“Eliud Kipchoge’s consistent dominance of the marathon, a grueling event where so many things can go wrong, is unparalleled. We have never seen anything like him. We may never see anything like him ever again,” American sports writer Jonathan Gault tweeted.

“Kipchoge talking to Karoki while handing him a drink, as he clicks through halfway in 61 minutes – there’s never been an athlete like him.” Cathal Dennehy said.

“Eliud Kipchoge finished the race, came back to Kenya, farmed on his land, went back to London and waited for Mo Farah on the finishing line #LondonMarathon,” Sickolia wrote on Twitter as he teased the British great.

“Eliud Kipchoge wins the #LondonMarathon in 2:04:17. GOAT” Sports Scientist Jon Mulkeen in a summarised conclusion of Kipchoge’s unrivaled brilliance.

After a blistering start, it had appeared for a while that Kipchoge may be in contention to break the marathon world record held by Dennis Kimetto when he crossed the half-way mark at 61 minutes, but he was unable to maintain his speed under the scorching conditions.

“I came to London to run a beautiful race and today I ran a really beautiful race,” said Kipchoge. “Thank you, London.”

Olympic 5000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot sprang a major surprise in the women’s race when she upset a stellar cast to complete the Kenyan double.

Cheruiyot took advantage of failed attempts to break Paula Radcliffe’s 15-year-old world record by last year’s winner Mary Keitany and runner-up Tirunesh Dibaba.