FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Elite men: post-race quotes
Winner: Shura Kitata (ETH), 2:05:41
On the sprint finish:
"All the time I kept myself in the back to attack when I needed to. When I
went, I tried to push the pace more than before. I went into the last lap
to beat the others."
On what his vitop threeectory will mean back in Ethiopia:
"First of all, I am very happy to win this race against a very strong field
for my country and for my group of teammates. It is very good and will be
really good to boost morale.
"My coach, because of Covid-19, is back in Ethiopia. I will bring back the
medals for him and I am very happy with that for him."
Second place: Vincent Kipchumba (KEN), 2:05:42
On the final 100 metres:
"I had a plan to run the last kilometre, to run maybe to break that group,
but I responded early. I did not imagine I'd kick that early so I could
finish at a faster pace."
On being the leading Kenyan in the final kilometre:
"I was not expecting to be in that position because we had Eliud, a
champion and a legend, in the field, but I'm very happy to have come
second."
On what his runner-up place will mean in Kenya:
"I think they are very happy now, because I did well, and I'm very happy
too."
On how he feels to have beaten Eliud Kipchoge:
"I feel good and I'm very happy."
On the weather conditions:
"We could have run faster but the weather didn't allow us to make it the
way we had planned, which was to run good and fast."
Third place: Sisay Lemma (ETH), 2:05:45
On the final 100 metres:
"The conditions were very hard, but it was a good competition. With 100m to
go I focused on the Finish Line but they [Kitata and Kipchumba] were faster
than me."
"The wind and the rain were difficult ¬– no good for athletes in the rain."
On his hopes for 2021:
"I don't know when I'll next race because of Covid-19. I don't know if the
next competition will be Tokyo. If it's Tokyo, I will go, I'm ready for
that."
Eighth place: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN), 2:06:49
On racing in London:
"It's good to be in London, it's good for the whole world out there and
despite Covid-19 people can still come up and plan in a healthy way.
"My right ear got blocked and I tried, but all of a sudden to not hear, it
was not good."
On how he feels:
"I'm truly disappointed. I always wanted to win, I always want to win and
show people you can always win if you focus yourself.
"All in all, that's how sport is."
On when he realised it wasn't going to be his day:
"During the last 5K, I discovered something's wrong. My legs are not
moving, my ear is totally blocked. I tried to keep along with the pace and
tried to finish.
"Sport is unpredictable, that's obvious. But you know what they say, if you
want to enjoy sport, then accept yourself and that the finishers are the
finishers and that's how to enjoy the sport."
On preparing for next year's Olympic Games:
"I'll be back to training but hopefully it'll come next year. I know it's
not the end of the world, it's just what's happening."
On whether he can be competitive in the Olympics next year:
"Absolutely, yes."
Sir Mo Farah
On his pace-making duties:
"It was a very different experience but I really enjoyed myself and I'm so
glad to see two of the [British] guys get the [Olympic] qualifying time and
just the whole group of different nations getting the qualifying time as
well. But it was fun, it's different, it's a different feeling, it's not as
much pressure as racing. I enjoyed myself today."
How much did you want to be in the thick of the race instead of pace making?
"As an athlete of course I want to be in the mix and race, but I've decided
next year, 2021, I can come back in the 10K. So for me, there are not many
races going on, so when the chance to race and see where you are came up,
at least it gives you something to aim for and secondly help the guys out.
It's a no-brainer to say 'yeah, I'll come out here and do it.'"
What was going on between you and the GB runners on the course [referring
to chat]?
"My job was basically to try to make it as easy as possible for them, and I
know what it feels like sometimes when you are against the clock and
thinking about pace and I was just talking to them saying 'you're on the
right track' and then finding out as much information as I could from
outside to make sure they were on the right time."
Response to Bekele not making start and Kipchoge's performance:
"Obviously, in athletics it happens. I'm a bit disappointed for them myself
because it was something we had waited for so long to see, Kenenisa and
Kipchoge head-to-head, but at the same time this is the sport. You never
know. You could be in the best shape and turn up... I know Kipchoge well
enough and as an athlete you never put yourself in that position if you're
not 100 per cent. In a way, it's good for him because he's not ready to go
back and focus on something else and the result, it's different.
"The result, I was just watching it, it's different, but obviously there
was a lot of pressure, but it happens with the weather, conditions and a
great field."
Next year? Olympics and marathon? Unfinished business?
"Definitely, it's not 'it'. I'd still like to be able to run a decent
marathon. Looking at the time today [02:06], it's something I'm capable of
but at the same time, next year, it's a big year for us, having postponed
the Olympics, it gives me another year to get more races under my belt and
definitely my focus is the 10,000m in Tokyo 2021. And after that, who
knows?
"I've really enjoyed myself. Thank you everyone who's at home supporting
us."
First British man: Jonny Mellor, 13th, 2:10:38
On becoming British champion:
"I'm really pleased, I knew with the conditions today it wasn't really
about times and I really wanted to get first across the line so I'm
delighted to have achieved that."
On whether he felt the pressure was off as he'd already achieved the
Olympic qualifying time:
"I think so, as I could really focus on racing and staying in touch with
first Brit. I was keeping an eye on the time, but I wasn't really tracking
it too much."
On the conditions:
"I live near Manchester so should be used to the rain now. It was tough and
I noticed today that my hamstrings were cramping up a little bit at 25K,
which hasn't happened before. It was wet underfoot so was slippery in
parts."
On the looped course:
"It's weird because at first I was like 'oh my god, we've still got 10 laps
to go' and thought that's such as long way, but after that the laps all
went really, really quickly, so a bit like a 10K on the track really, once
you get through most of it..."
On Ben Connor's performance:
"Ben's a top lad, I've trained with Ben over the years, he's a top, top
guy, a big Derby County fan so I'm really pleased for Ben, he deserves
that."
On his confidence going into 2021:
"I think it gives me the confidence that I can go to a trial race and
finish in the top two, which will be the main goal for next year, ahead of
the Olympics. I've got the time now, so I can focus on really racing."
Second British man: Ben Connor, 15th, 2:11:20
On debut and making the Olympic qualifying time:
"That's what I wanted coming into today. I would have been delighted with
anything under 2:11:30, so I'm delighted with 10 seconds under."
On the last 20 metres:
"Incredible. I didn't think I was going to make it with 100 metres to go. I
thought I was going to end up being some kind of YouTube clip by the end of
it, wobbling all over the place. I was just so happy to get over the Finish
Line and just under the time."
On the looped course:
"I didn't mind it to be honest. It's my first marathon anyway so I didn't
know any different. I was more counting miles than counting laps, I only
really noticed the laps with three to go. I just got into a rhythm early
on. The course is fantastic; flat, fast, obviously would have been nice to
get better conditions, but I can't complain."
On Jonny Mellor helping him:
"Me and Jonny used to be training partners a couple years ago so it was
great to have him alongside for most of the race. He pushed on quite a bit,
well, pushed on me to get the pace. I blew up a bit on the last lap. It was
fantastic to run the majority of it with him. Delighted for him to get a
good time as well."
On his plans for next spring:
"We've just got to see what the Olympic selection is from the trial races.
I'm going into the trial races with an Olympic qualifying time, so that's
one box ticked. As soon as we know what the trial race is, I'll be able to
plan that with other races, half marathon, 10K, but we don't really know at
the moment."
Third British man: Joshua Griffiths, 18th, 2:13:11
On being on the Start Line:
"The event was amazing. It's a massive shame there are no crowds here, but
personally it went really well. Third Brit and PB, happy days."
On the looped course:
"It's really different; the normal London Marathon is pretty iconic, you've
got loads of great scenery but this is a bit different. As an elite you
just focus into a rhythm and tick off the laps. In terms of a fast course
it was really good."
On his PB:
"A personal best is great. I missed out on the Olympic time but conditions
today didn't really make that possible. It is a really positive race for
me, I'm that much closer to an Olympic standard now and looking forward to
2021 for all aspects."
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