Sammy Wanjiru became Kenya's first Olympic marathon champion as he stormed away from the field despite the soaring heat in Beijing, to win in a new Olympic record

Wanjiru, who led from the start of the race, was among a leading pack that set off at an almost suicidal pace in the early miles. The 21-year-old went through the half-way point in one hour, two minutes and 36 seconds and although he slowed in the second half of the race he broke the existing Olympic record, finishing in a time of 2:06:32secs.

Wanjiru, runner-up in the London Marathon in April, said: "I had to push the pace to tire the other runners. I had to push the pace because my body gets tired when I slow down.

"In Kenya we have many medals, but I'm glad to have this one. It feels good to make history for Kenya and win the gold."

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Jaouad Gharib of Morocco won the silver medal, finishing 84sec behind Wanjiru while Ethiopia's Tsegay Kebede took bronze. Dan Robinson, Britain's only representative, finished in 24th place.

After the race Robinson said: "They went off so quickly in the first kilometre I deliberately backed off the pace. But I always thought more athletes would start coming back and they did.”<QA1>

Robinson, who clocked 2:16:14, added: “I’m a little disappointed not to make the top 20, but you can only do what you can.

“Maybe I didn’t get my pacing quite right, but I’m satisfied with the run."