The 30th London marathon has been won by Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede.
Steady rain replaced clouds of volcanic ash as the chief hazard for a record field of more than 37-and-a-half thousand runners, and Kebede, though troubled by the slippery roads, won the mens race in two hours 5 minutes 19 seconds, running alone for the last 10 kilometres.
Because of the volcanic eruption in Iceland, many athletes had to make marathon journeys to London, Kebede flying from Addis Ababa via Isreal and Spain before finally arriving in Britain.
In the womens race, New Zealand's Kimberley Smith finished 8th in two hours, 25 minutes, 21 seconds, three minutes behind the Russian former track specialist Liliya Shobukhova.
