A great achievement but the whole thing seemed to be contrived with a team of 42 pacemakers,a flat course and waiting for the weather conditions to be ideal.

Eliud Kipchoge is among five finalists for the Male World Athlete 2019 award.

 

The Kenyan, 35, became the first athlete to run a marathon in under two hours at in the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria in October.

 

Kipchoge also set the London Marathon course record of two hours, two minutes and 37 seconds earlier this year.

 

Americans Sam Kendricks and Noah Lyles, Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei and Norwegian hurdler Karsten Warholm are also up for the award.

Abraham Kiptum has been banned for four years over an anti-doping violation, the Athletics Integrity Unit has said.

Paula Radcliffe is to coach US runner Jordan Hasay, who has left the disbanded Nike Oregon Project.

 

Hasay, 28, is the second-fastest American woman over the marathon.

Dina Asher-Smith has been named Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year for 2019.

 

The 23-year-old became the first British woman to win a major global sprint title when she stormed to victory in the 200m at the World Championships in Doha in October.

 

It is the second successive year that Asher-Smith has claimed the accolade.

The British Olympic Association says it is "dismayed" by the "ongoing legal tactics" of top athletes threatening to sue over sponsorship regulations.

 

Mo Farah, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Laura Muir and Adam Gemili are among those listed as claimants in a legal letter sent to the body.

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