Ethiopian Tigst Assefa seized the opportunity presented by the warm weather to surge ahead in the final stretch, claiming her first London Marathon title on Sunday and setting a new record for a women’s-only race. For 28-year-old Assefa it was ample compensation for finishing runner-up both in London and the Paris Olympics last year – especially as bitter Dutch rival, the Ethiopia-born Sifan Hassan, finished third. Assefa dropped Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei as the race, played out in blazing sunshine and with thousands lining the route, entered its business end. She came home almost three minutes clear of the Kenyan. Hassan, who beat her in an ill-tempered finish to the Olympic race last year, was well adrift in third. “I was second last year so to win here this year is very special,” she told the BBC speaking through an interpreter. “Last year I had trouble with the cold weather and my hamstring tightened up. “This year suited me much more and I found it a lot easier.” Sawe made the decisive break at a drinks station as they reached the 90-minute mark and he gave Kenya their fourth successive win in the men’s race timing 2hr 02min 27sec. The 29-year-old, who won the Valencia marathon last December, came home alone ahead of Uganda’s world half marathon record holder Jacob Kiplimo. Defending champion Alexander Mutiso Munyao edged Abdi Nageeye for third in a photo finish while four-time champion Eliud Kipchoge finished sixth. Britain’s Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee finished a highly creditable 14th on his debut. “I am very happy to have won a major marathon,” said Sawe, who won the Valencia marathon last December. “I was well prepared for this – that is why I was so relaxed and confident. “Now this gives me hope that further success in marathons will come.” There was a Swiss double in the wheelchair category – Marcel Hug and Olympic champion Catherine Debrunner winning the men and women’s titles respectively. For Hug, 39, it was his seventh London crown and fifth successive victory. For 30-year-old Debrunner it represented her second consecutive win and third overall. It was not just about the stars though. In a race claimed by the organisers to be the most popular marathon in the world there were plenty running to raise money for charity or because of personal loss. The marathon is the world’s biggest single-day fundraising event with over £1.3 billion ($1.72 billion) raised for charity since the first race in 1981. The fathers of Alice da Silva, 9, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, two of the three young girls murdered last July in Southport, northern England, took part in memory of their daughters. They received a video message from United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “Elsie was my best friend, she was perfect, it’s like therapy, it’s more than just a race,” said David Stancombe, who watched the race with her last year, whilst Alice’s dad Sergio Aguiar said: “I wanted to do something for her.” Isla, the 18-year-old daughter of three-time London victor Paula Radcliffe, made her debut running for Children with Cancer UK. She was diagnosed with cancer aged 13. The 45th edition of the race was aiming to break a record and become the marathon with the most competitors. There were expected to be more than 56,000 people taking part this year, from the elite field through to those in fancy dress including Sarah Louise Haddock appropriately dressed as a fish. The record number of finishers is 55,646 finishers at last year’s New York Marathon. This month’s Paris Marathon also had 56,950 starters but fewer finishers.