Eliud Kipchoge completed his transformation from track world champion to world-class marathon runner by winning a titanic tussle with fellow Kenyan Wilson Kipsang to end his compatriot's reign as Virgin Money London Marathon champion on Sunday.
The former world 5,000 metres champion broke away from two-time winner Kipsang in the final 800m, having two miles earlier left world record holder Dennis Kimetto in his wake, to conquer one of the toughest marathon fields ever assembled.
The 30-year-old, who only moved up to the marathon two years ago following a track career which brought him global gold in Paris in 2003, was taking on the three fastest men of all time over 26.2 miles.
But, confident in his finishing speed, he looked relaxed as his rivals faded before crossing the line in two hours four minutes and 42 seconds.
He had built a big enough lead to allow him to celebrate as he came down The Mall, pointing to the crowds lining the road as he finished five seconds ahead of Kipsang.
It was his fourth marathon win in five races.
Kimetto was third, finishing some way back in 2hrs 5mins 50secs, to complete a Kenyan clean sweep.
The race had been billed as a 'Clash of the Champions' between Kipsang and Kimetto, their first meeting over the marathon.
And Kipchoge was happy to slip under the radar.
He said: "I was really underrated. Everyone was like, 'Wilson and Kimetto, who will win'?"
The race, the 35th edition of the London Marathon, went off at a blistering early pace before developing into a four-way shoot-out between four Kenyans, with Stanley Biwott also in the mix until the closing stages.
Racing under overcast skies, Kipchoge and Kipsang were the ones to make a move, pulling clear around the 24-mile mark and opening up an unassailable gap.
The pair were neck and neck down the Embankment, but at the finish it was the former track man who had the strength as he added the London title to the marathons in Rotterdam and Chicago he won last year.
Kipchoge said: ''It was a tough race. My training paid off and it went to plan. The crowd were wonderful and lifted me for my sprint finish.''
Kipsang added: "I tried to keep a close watch on him, but he had more fuel than me."
The switch from track to marathon is by no means an easy one - Mo Farah's struggles on his debut over 26.2 miles last year provided conclusive proof of that - but Kipchoge said his track career had helped fine-tune his mental approach.
"Running is not only physical exercise, it's also mental. Young guys should concentrate on track for their minds," he said on the best way to prepare for a road career.
Ethiopia's Tigist Tufa ended Kenya's domination of the women's race with a shock victory.
The 28-year-old, who was only the ninth-fastest in the field, seized a cagey race by the scruff of the neck in the closing stages to pull clear of the field and win by 18 seconds from Mary Keitany.
It was the biggest win of her career and ended four years of domination by Kenya's women in the capital.
She crossed the line in 2:23:22 to become the first Ethiopian women's champion since Derartu Tulu in 2001.
Tufa had barely been considered a contender in the build-up, but the slow pace played into her hands and she produced a 25th mile of 5:07 to break her rivals.
Another Ethiopian, Tirfi Tsegaye, came home in third place.
Scott Overall and Sonia Samuels were the highest-placed British men's and women's finishers in 13th and 16th respectively.
David Weir's bid for a record seventh wheelchair crown ended in disappointment as he was pipped to the line by American Joshua George.
The six-time Paralympic gold medallist looked on course for victory when his great rival, Switzerland's Marcel Hug, was forced out of the race by a puncture, but George had the edge in a sprint finish to win by a second.
Second place did earn the Briton another global medal, with this year's London Marathon doubling as the IPC World Championship race.
While the men's wheelchair race went down to the wire, the women's was a procession for the dominant American Tatyana McFadden, who was in a class of her own as she claimed her third straight title.
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