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Sir Mo smashes British record at London Marathon

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Sir Mo Farah smashed a British record as he secured a top three finish in sweltering conditions at the London Marathon.

In what was his first race over this distance since shifting his concentration from the track to road events, the four-time Olympic champion managed to finish with the timer above him reading two hours, six minutes and 21 seconds.

The London Marathon website listed his time as two hours, seven minutes and 32 seconds, but either way, Sir Mo comfortably beat the two hours, seven minutes and 13 seconds achieved by Steve Jones back in 1975

He held on to a top three spot despite appearing to struggle at times, and the 35-year-old was driven on towards the end by some of the 800,000 spectators who lined the 26.2 mile course, cheering him on as he reached the finish line.

Image:Sir Mo falls to the floor after finishing third

Sir Mo was not the only Briton with reason to celebrate, as David Weir won his eighth London Marathon men's wheelchair title.

Elsewhere, Vivian Cheruiyot, from Kenya, won the women's elite race and Australian Madison de Rozario won the women's wheelchair title.

Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, who won gold at the 2016 Olympics, was the man who won the men's elite race with a remarkable time of two hours, four minutes and 16 seconds.

The men's elite race gets underway
Image:The men's elite race gets underway

Their performances were all the more impressive considering the conditions, with the capital bathed in sunshine despite thunderstorms overnight.

Forecasters had predicted highs of 23C (73.4F), forcing organisers to advise runners to rethink their fancy dress plans and drop their target finish times, with more ice, water and run-through shower stations positioned along the route.

Among the 40,000 runners taking part for charity are firefighters who tackled the Grenfell Tower blaze, a police officer who was stabbed during the London Bridge terror attack, and members of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust on what is the 25th anniversary of the teenager's murder.

They set off from Blackheath at 10am after the Queen started the 38th annual event from Windsor Castle by pressing the traditional red button.

The Queen with Sir John Spurling, Chairman of London Marathon Events
Image:The Queen with Sir John Spurling, Chairman of London Marathon Events

The course takes runners along both sides of the Thames, with the finish line on The Mall near Buckingham Palace.

Prince Harry, who is patron of the London Marathon Charitable Trust, is in the capital to cheer people on.

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Organisers hope another record to tumble will be how much the event raises for charity, with it having registered a new high for an annual one-day fundraising event last year with £61.5m.

The annual race has raised £890m in total since 1981 and continues to grow in popularity, with 386,050 people applying to take part this year – almost a third more than in 2017 and the highest number for any marathon in the world.

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