Zhou broke away with about 5 kilometers (3 miles) to go in the women's race, leaving Gete Wami and Lornah Kiplagat behind before sprinting² up the final straight on The Mall to win in 2 hours, 20 minutes, 38 seconds.

Wami was second in 2:21:45 and Constantina Tomescu-Dita was third in 2:23:55. Salina Kosgei of Kenya was fourth, with Kiplagat finishing in fifth.

Zhou is the first Chinese runner _ man or woman _ to win one of the World Marathon Majors, which consist of the London, New York, Boston, Chicago and Berlin marathons.

Zhou, Kiplagat, Wami and Berhane Adere were in the main group at the halfway³ point, completing the first 20 kilometers (12 miles) in 1:06:18.

Tomescu-Dita had dropped back around the 22-kilometer (14-mile) mark and Australian contender⁴ Benita Johnson had also run with the main group until 17 kilometers (11 miles).

Adere, last year's Chicago Marathon champion, was the next runner to fall off the pace, dropping back shortly⁵ after 25 kilometers (15.5 miles), leaving Kiplagat leading Zhou and Wami up front, with the female⁶ pacemaker pulling out soon afterward⁷.

The three ran together until Zhou's breakaway.

This was the 28-year-old Zhou's third marathon outside Asia. She finished fifth at the 2005 world championships in Helsinki, Finland, and 33rd at the 2004 Olympics. Last year, Zhou won the marathon at the Asian Games.

The previous best finish for a Chinese woman at the London Marathon was Zhao Youfeng's fourth in 1990. The best men's finish was Cai Shangyan, who finished eighth in 1988.

The 27th edition of the London race was run under sunny skies, with a temperature of 18 degrees C (64 degrees F) when the race began at 9:00 a.m. local time.

It was the slowest women's race since 2004, when Margaret Okayo won in 2:22:35