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The Kenyan will be rewarded for winning the race and also harvest a bumper reward for running a sub-2:02.00
Kelvin Kiptum is the latest Kenyan millionaire after he raked in Ksh27 million following his incredible run to win the London Marathon on Sunday.
The 23-year-old had a debut to remember as he smashed the course record and nearly broke the world marathon record in the English capital after clocking 2:01:25.
It was the second-fastest ever time over the 42km race, only behind Eliud Kipchoge’s world record of 2:01:09 recorded in Berlin last year.
His time was not just the second fasted ever record in a marathon by also the fastest ever in London where no runner had done a sub-2:02.00 in the 43-year history of the grueling race, with Kipchoge holding the course record of 2:02:38, before Sunday’s race, having set it in 2019 when he won his fourth title.
That means Kiptum is in for a bumper harvest as he will be rewarded for winning the race as well as running a sub-2:02.00. Winners of the London Marathon each get $55,000 (Ksh7.3 million) but it is on records where runners make much more.
On top of the winner’s prize, any runner in the men's race who clocks a sub-2:02.00 time can get a share of $150,000 (Ksh20 million). That goes down to $100,000 (Ksh13.4 million) for under 2:03.00, $75,000 (Ksh10 million) for sub-2:04.00, and $50,000 (Ksh6.7 million) for under 2:05.
Kiptum, therefore, becomes the first man to ever claim the $150,000 (Ksh20 million) for managing the sub-2:02.00 and he will not be sharing it with anyone as second-placed Geoffrey Kamworor finished two minutes, 58 seconds later.
He will go home with the entire purse of $205,000 (Ksh27 million) for winning the race and running a sub-2:02:00 time.
It was an incredible achievement for a runner who is just getting started over the distance given London is not one of the fastest course in the major marathons.
Kiptum was on pace for a finish in the 2:03s before his late surge, having covered the second half of the race in 59:45.
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