Sharjah24 – AFP: Marathon world record-holder Eliud Kipchoge stormed to gold in one of the standout performances at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, with the curtain set to fall on the highly unusual Games.

A succession of big names have failed to perform at the postponed 2020 Olympics but Kenya's Kipchoge showed his class in Sapporo, kicking on the closing stages and clocking 2hr 08min 38sec to retain his 2016 title.

It rounded off the athletics programme on the 16th and final day of Olympic competition, with China two golds clear of the United States at the top of the medals table with just a handful of events still to come.

The Games have been plagued by low Japanese support over coronavirus super-spreader fears but a strong performance by the hosts, third in the table with 27 golds, has helped win hearts even though most fans are locked out.

The marathon, moved north to Sapporo to avoid Tokyo's summer heat, was one of the few events to allow fans but Sunday's closing ceremony will take place at a largely vacant Olympic Stadium.

The ceremony in the 68,000-seat stadium, attended by VIPs and media, rounds off an extraordinary Olympics which last year became the first Games to be postponed and often looked at risk of cancellation.