Marathon joy for El Mouaziz

El Mouaziz prays after his glorious win

Morocco's Abdelkader El Mouaziz sprinted to victory in the men's London Marathon.

Second last year, the Moroccan went one better to record a time of two hours seven minutes and nine seconds.

Kenyan Paul Tergat came second while three-time winner and defending champion Antonio Pinto of Portugal, came third.

Although the times were not outstanding, the battle between five-time World Cross Country champion Tergat and the Moroccan kept the excitement at fever pitch.

The first significant break-away in the men's race came at the halfway stage, when a six-man group took control at the front.

British joy

The three favourites for the men's race - defending champion Pinto, El Mouaziz and 10,000m specialist Tergat - were all well placed in the leading group.

El Mouaziz takes time to cool down during his winning run

El Mouaziz soon turned up the heat, though, and only Tergat seemed able to match him as the pair pulled away from the rest.

Tergat had no answer in the final miles, as El Mouaziz, made his experience of the course count.

Britain's Mark Steinlie flew the flag for Britain by coming a sensational sixth, in a time which helps him qualify for the World Athletics Championship late this year.

Britain's leading marathon runner, Jon Brown, was forced to pull out soon after half-way.

Brown, fourth in the Sydney Olympics, had been struggling with a bronchial complaint in the build-up to the race.