Kipsang and Keitany secure victory in London Marathon

Wilson Kipsang and Mary Keitany secured a Kenyan double by winning the men's and women's races at the London Marathon.

Kipsang led for the final seven miles and just missed out on the course record with a time of 2:04:44.

Keitany won for the second successive year with a time of 2:18:37.

Kenya’s Mary Keitany (R) pulls away from Edna Kiplagat of Kenya to win the Women's section of the London marathon April 22, 2012. (Photo:Reuters)

Claire Hallissey was the first Briton to finish and her time should be enough to earn Olympic selection.

Paula Radcliffe and Mara Yamauchi have already qualified for this summer's Games, but Hallissey's time was quicker than Jo Pavey, who did not run but had been ranked third.

"I'm keeping my fingers crossed," Hallissey told BBC Radio 5 live. "I knew we were on target.

"It wasn't until I got to the clock with 800m to go that I knew for certain.

"I was running as fast as I could, so it was not worth the effort working out what time to go for. It would be fantastic. The home Olympics is the chance of a lifetime."

In the men's race, Lee Merrien was the first Briton to finish, coming in 17th.

The Guernsey athlete was on course to meet the Olympic 'A' standard of 2:12:00 but ultimately failed to make the mark despite setting a personal best time.

Scott Overall, who is the only British man selected for the Olympics after finishing fifth in Berlin last year, was acting as a pacemaker for his compatriots but pulled out after 15 kilometres with a minor hamstring strain.

Kipsang's dogged performance saw him finish more than two minutes clear of fellow countryman Martin Lel, who finished second and 2010 winner Tsegaye Kebede.

Keitany set a relentless pace to pull away from compatriot Edna Kiplagat in the final three miles and win by more than a minute, with Priscah Jeptoo coming in third.

Kenya's Wilson Kipsang runs on his way to winning the men's London Marathon April 22, 2012. (Photo:Reuters)