Kenyan Edna Kiplagat defied hot and humid conditions and a brave front-running display from Italian Valeria Straneo to become the first woman to retain the world marathon title on Saturday.

Kiplagat, 33, won the first gold of the Moscow world championships after timing her race to perfection, taking control in the shadows of the Luzhniki stadium to win in 2:25:44.

The smooth-striding Kiplagat, who led a Kenyan sweep of the medals in Daegu in 2011, stalked Straneo, 37, until the 40km mark after the two other leading protagonists - Japan's Kayoko Fukushi and Ethiopian Meselech Melkamu dropped off the pace.