Mutiso Munyao gives Kenya another London Marathon win after tribute to Kiptum

LONDON (AP) — Alexander Mutiso Munyao delivered another win for Kenya on a day the London Marathon remembered last year's champion Kelvin Kiptum.

A race that started with a period of applause for Kiptum, who was killed in a car crash in Kenya in February, ended with his countryman and friend running alone down the final straight in front of Buckinhgam Palace to earn an impressive victory in his first major marathon.

Mutiso Munyao said he spoke to Kiptum after his win in London last year and that the world-record holder is always on his mind when he's competing.

“He’s in my thoughts every time, because he was my great friend,” Mutiso Munyao said. “It was a good day for me.”

It was a Kenyan double on the day, with Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir pulling away late to win the women’s race and cement her status as the favorite to defend her gold in Paris.

With around 400 meters (yards) to go to, Jepchirchir left world-record holder Tigst Assefa and two other rivals behind to sprint alone down the final stretch. She finished in 2 hours, 16 minutes, 16 seconds, with Assefa in second and Joyciline Jepkosgei in third.

Her time was more than 4 minutes slower than Assefa’s world record set in Berlin last year, but it was the fastest time ever in a women-only marathon, beating the mark of 2:17:01 set by Mary Keitany in London in 2017. The elite women’s field in London started about 30 minutes ahead of the elite men.

For Jepchirchir, though, the main goal was to show Kenya's selectors for the Olympic team that she should be on the team again in Paris.

“So I was trying to work extra hard to (be able to) defend my title in the Olympics,” she said.

Mutiso Munyao denied 41-year-old Kenenisa Bekele a first London Marathon victory by pulling away from the Ethiopian great with about 3 kilometers to go Sunday for his biggest career win.

Mutiso Munyao and Bekele were in a two-way fight for the win until the Kenyan made his move as they ran along the River Thames, quickly building a six-second gap that only grew as he ran toward the finish.

“At 40 kilometers, when my friend Bekele was left (behind), I had confidence that I can win this race,” the 27-year-old Mutiso Munyao said.

He finished in 2 hours, 4 minutes, 1 second, with Bekele finishing 14 seconds behind. Emile Cairess of Britain was third, 2:45 back.

Bekele, the Ethiopian former Olympic 10,000 and 5,000-meter champion, was also the runner-up in London in 2017 but has never won the race.

Mutiso Munyao is relatively unknown in marathon circles and said he wasn't sure whether this win would be enough to make Kenya's Olympic team for Paris.

“I hope for the best,” he said. “If they select me I will go and work for it.”

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Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya reacts after winning the women's race at the London Marathon in London, Sunday, April 21, 2024.(AP Photo/David Cliff)

Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya crosses the finish line to win the women's race at the London Marathon in London, Sunday, April 21, 2024.(AP Photo/David Cliff)

Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya crosses the finish line to win the women's race at the London Marathon in London, Sunday, April 21, 2024.(AP Photo/David Cliff)

Alexander Mutiso Munyao of Kenya reacts after winning the men's race at the London Marathon in London, Sunday, April 21, 2024.(AP Photo/David Cliff)

Alexander Mutiso Munyao of Kenya crosses the finish line to win the men's race at the London Marathon in London, Sunday, April 21, 2024.(AP Photo/David Cliff)

Runners including Tamirat Tola, Kenenisa Bekele and Norman Shreeve at the start of the men's elite race at the London Marathon, London, Sunday April 21, 2024. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday set a July primary and a September general election to fill the Newark-based U.S. House seat that opened after Rep. Donald Payne Jr.'s recent death.

Murphy signed a writ of election, required under state law. The July 16 primary will be about a month after the state's regularly scheduled June 4 contest, followed by the general election Sept. 18.

The special election will determine who serves out the remainder of Payne's term, which ends Jan. 3, 2025, while the regular election process held in parallel will be for who fills the seat after that.

It's not yet clear who will be running in the heavily Democratic and majority-Black district, which is unlikely to flip as registered Republicans are outnumbered by more than 6 to 1.

Payne had already filed paperwork to run for reelection this year and is set to appear uncontested on the ballot for the regular June 4 primary. Should he win the nomination, Democratic Party committee members in his district could choose a replacement to run in the November general election.

Payne, who died April 24 of a heart attack connected to complications from diabetes, served in the House since 2012.

He succeeded his father, Donald Milford Payne, who held the seat for two decades and also died while he was a sitting congressman.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy speaks during the Celebration of the Life of Donald M. Payne, Jr. at Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, NJ on Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Ed Murray/NJ Advance Media via AP)

FILE - Donald Payne Jr. stands during the funeral of his father, New Jersey Congressman Donald Payne, in Newark, N.J., March 13, 2012. Payne Jr. of New Jersey died Wednesday, April 24, 2024, officials said, after suffering a heart attack earlier this month that had left him hospitalized. He was 65. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

FILE - Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J., poses for a ceremonial photo in the Rayburn Room of the Capitol after the new 113th Congress convened, Jan. 3, 2013, in Washington. Payne Jr. of New Jersey died Wednesday, April 24, 2024, officials said, after suffering a heart attack earlier this month that had left him hospitalized. He was 65. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)