Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge got the better of compatriot and defending champion Wilson Kipsang to win the London Marathon by five seconds on Sunday with world record holder Dennis Kimetto third.

Kipchoge, a former world champion at 5,000 metres, and Kipsang broke clear in the closing stages after a blistering race but it was Kipchoge who finished with a decisive burst of speed to win in 2:04.42.

Kipsang clocked 2:04.47 and Kimetto 2:05.50 after he failed to live with the late break of the leading pair.

Labelled the 'clash of the champions' by organisers, Sunday's race – headlined by Kenyans Kipsang, Kimetto, Emmanuel Mutai and Stanley Biwott – pitted eight sub-2:05 runners and five of the all-time top-10 in one of the fastest fields ever assembled.

Ethiopia’s Tigist Tufa ended Kenya’s domination of the women’s race at the 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 was able to wave to the crowds as she came down The Mall to 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 race.

She crossed the line in an unofficial time of 2:23.22 to become the first Ethiopian women’s champion since Derartu Tulu in 2001.

Another Ethiopian, Tirfi Tsegaye, came home in third place.

As well as Paula Radcliffe's farewell, the race had been billed as a four-way fight between a quartet of Kenyans: defending champion Edna Kiplagat, two-time former champion Keitany, half-marathon world record holder Florence Kiplagat and Priscah Jeptoo, the winner in 2013.

Tufa had barely been mentioned in the build-up, but, beneath overcast skies, the slow pace played into her hands and she produced a 25th mile of 5:07 to break her rivals. From that point on there was only one winner.