Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich clocked 2:08.05 to finish sixth after running 26.2 miles (42km) at the Virgin London Marathon on Sunday morning.
Perhaps many especially back home would think he had a below par performance owing to the fact that he took gold on the last of day of the London Olympics last year.
Kiprotich lost touch of the leading pack shortly after half-way the race. He fell out of the nine positions for a while only to be seen sipping gallops of water before put up a late show.
While course record holder Kenyan Emmanuel Mutai exchanged the lead up front with country mate Stanley Biwott, Kiprotich worked harder with less than seven kilometers to go.
But Ethiopian Tesgaye Kebede who was never in serious contention, crawled back with short but decent strides before crossing the tape first after timing his race to perfection to triumph in 2hr 6min 4sec.
He overtook Mutai (2:06:33) with less than three miles left as he was cheered through the streets by thousands of spectators amidst tight security at the first major race since the twin bombings at the Boston event.
It may surely not have been Kiprotich’s day but his late surge put him ahead of Biwott as well as world record holder Patrick Makau.
The victory in the British capital came after Kebede was denied a shot at glory here at the Olympics last year after being overlooked by Ethiopian selectors. It was his second marathon win in London.
The women’s race saw Olympic silver medalist Priscah Jeptoo go one better in the annual London race.
The Kenyan cruised over the line in 2:20:15 seconds, the fastest time this year, ahead of compatriot Edna Kiplagat, while Yukiko Akaba of Japan was third.
“Today I’m very, very happy, I couldn’t believe I could be the winner,” Jeptoo told the BBC. “It is a very tough race because everybody who comes here is really prepared.”
It was a miserable day for Olympic champion Tiki Gelana, who finished 16th after seeing her hopes thwarted by a collision about a third of the way in.