Marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge has lost the London Marathon title after Ethiopia’s Shura Kitata sailed to a win through a spectacular sprint.

 

Kipchoge, who seemed to struggle from the 35km mark before dropping off the leading pack, blamed his tribulations on a problem with his ear that may have been caused by the prevailing weather.

 

 

The four-time winner Kipchoge was the favourite ahead of the tough race in London, but he fell behind with only two laps to go.

 

Kipchoge only settled for the eighth position in The Virgin Money London Men's Marathon after clocking 2:06:49.

 

Sunday’s race was the first time Kipchoge lost since finishing second behind Wilson Kipsang in a world-record pace Berlin Marathon in 2013.

 

Kenya’s Vincent Kipchumba pulled out all his energy in the final sprint but managed to finish second behind Matata.

 

However, the pint sized Kitata proved quite the challenger as he flew in the final lap to the finish line clocking 2:05:41 pushing Kipchumba to a second-place finish in 2:05:42.