London Marathon 2015 Results: Men and Women's Top Finishers

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge won a thrilling men's race in the 2015 London Marathon on Sunday, beating defending champion Wilson Kipsang, who placed second. Dennis Kimetto, the world record holder, placed third.

Ethiopia's Tigist Tufa won the women's race, convincingly beating a hotly tipped Kenyan group with a time of two hours, 23 minutes and 21 seconds.

The terrific event around the streets of England's capital had been billed ahead of time as a shootout between Kipsang and Kimetto, per the event, but compatriot Kipchoge came through impressively in the end: 

The men's race went ahead of course-record pace for much of the route, and just five were left in the leading group with a little over four miles to go.

Four formidable Kenyans—Kipchoge, Kipsang, Kimetto and Stanley Biwott—were joined by Ethiopia's Tilahun Regassa, but he couldn't live with the pace as the finish drew closer.

Position	Runner	Country	Time
1	Eliud Kipchoge	Kenya	2:04:42
2	Wilson Kipsang	Kenya	2:04:47
3	Dennis Kimetto	Kenya	2:05:50
4	Stanley Biwott	Kenya	2:06:41
5	Tilahun Regassa	Ethiopia	2:07:16
6	Samuel Kitwara	Kenya	2:07:43
7	Javier Guerra	Spain	2:09:33
8	Ghebre Kibrom	Eritrea	2:09:36
9	Aleksey Reunkov	Russia	2:10:10
10	Serhiy Lebid	Ukraine	2:10:21

The pace slowed slightly as the remaining quartet eyed each other up before the final kick, and it was Kipchoge and Kipsang who eventually drew away.

Kipchoge claimed the advantage and headed the field home, finishing a few seconds down on the course record, set last year, per The Wall Street Journal's Sara Germano:

Last year's winner in the women's race, Edna Kiplagat, was dropped off from the leading group before the business end of the race and never really looked like she would defend her title.

Ahead of the race, she was expected to be in contention along with the other members of Kenya's so-called "Fantastic Four": Mary Keitany, Florence Kiplagat and Priscah Jeptoo.

Position	Runner	Country	Time
1	Tigist Tufa	Ethiopia	2:23:22
2	Mary Keitany	Kenya	2:23:40
3	Tirfi Tsegaye	Ethiopia	2:23:41
4	Aselefech Mergia	Ethiopia	2:23:53
5	Florence Kiplagat	Kenya	2:24:15
6	Jemima Sumgong	Kenya	2:24:23
7	Priscah Jeptoo	Kenya	2:25:01
8	Ana Dulce Felix	Portugal	2:25:15
9	Volha Mazuronak	Belarus	2:25:36
10	Rkia El Moukim	Morocco	2:26:33

However, the women's early pace was surprisingly slow, and at 20 miles, Portugal's Ana Dulce Felix and Morocco's Rkia El Moukim were surprisingly setting the tone at the front.

The expected contenders came to the fore as the final stages closed in, but it was Ethiopia's Tufa who hit the front with a couple of miles to go, stretching ahead of the much-fancied Keitany, per the London Marathon:

It was a tactical masterclass from Tufa. She timed her surge to perfection, and the Kenyan favourites could not reel her in as she cruised to victory.

Keitany had to settle for second and only just, being pushed all the way to the line by Ethiopia's Tirfi Tsegaye in a thrilling battle.  

Sonia Samuels finished as the leading Brit in the women's race, an impressive performance after having to run much of the race by herself. 

Paula Radcliffe's final London Marathon performance saw her cheered from start to finish by the adoring crowd.

It was a thrilling day in the elite races with two deserving winners followed by the tens of thousands of amateurs, a combination that makes for such a special event.