from Athletics Weekly….
Arguable pre-race favourites Samuel Wanjiru and Berhane Adere head world-class fields as British athletes chase selection for Beijing.
With a field including six men boasting sub-2:07 credentials, an Olympic champion and a and the reigning world champion, this is one of the most lucrative marathon fields ever assembled, which should be a keenly contested competition between a strong Kenyan contingent, including defending champion Martin Lel.
The withdrawal of Paula Radcliffe through injury has left the women’s race wide open, with five women having clocked sub-2:22 PB’s.
Men’s race
LEL will certainly be hungry to win his third London crown, having been victorious in 2005 and 2007. A two-time winner of the New York Marathon as well, the 29-year-old Kenyan is likely to discover that the fiercest competition will come from his homeland, maybe in the guise of Samuel Wanjiru, the possible pre-race favourite. The half-marathon specialist translated that talent over the full distance on his debut in Fukuoka last December, storming to a 2:06:39 debut and since then, has won half-marathons in Granollers and Abu Dhabi.
Also in the field is the 2006 champion, Felix Limo, who outsprinted Lel for that title as well as the Amsterdam Marathon winner, Emmanuel Mutai and world champion, Luke Kibet. Despite a troubled build-up in the violence in Kenya at the beginning of season, the world champion must surely improve on his 2:08:52 PB as well as finishing higher than his London debut of 17th in 2005.
The other two sub-2:07 competitors in the field are South Africa’s Hendrick Ramaala and Ethiopia’s Deriba Merga. The 36-year-old South African set his PB of 2:06:55 in London two years ago and also boasts a good New York record, whereas Merga will only be running his third marathon, after debuting in Paris and finishing second in Fukuoka last year.
After a fairly quiet season, Stefano Baldini will be looking for a good race, on the road to an attempted defence of his Olympic title in Beijing. The Italian was second in this race in 1997 and 2003, as well as setting a national record of 2:07:22 in this race for fifth in 2006.
Despite only having the 10th fastest entry time, American sensation Ryan Hall is expected to make a drastic improvement on his 2:08:24 PB. The 25-year-old broke through in emphatic style last season, setting an American half-marathon record of 59:43, followed by a good 2:08:24 debut last year, before winning the Olympic trials in 2:09:02.
Also not to be discounted for a good performance is the Eritrean record-holder, Yonas Kifle (2:07:34), 2007 runner-up, Abderrahim Goumri and the two-time Dublin Marathon winner, Aleksey Sokolov.
The battle of the Brits is expected to be between Tomas Abyu and Dan Robinson. Abyu thought he had qualified for the Olympic Games, having stormed to a PB of 2:10:37 in Dublin last year but the IAAF had not ratified the course, and has to run again. More recently, he was third in Houston in 2:13:46 in January.
Robinson, who finished 12th and 11th at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships, as well as winning a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games has a relatively modest PB of 2:13:53, which must surely be improved on.
Women’s race
he THwithdrawal of world record-holder Paula Radcliffe has taken some of the interest away from the women’s race, leaving two of her fierce long-time rivals in the shape of Berhane Adere and Gete Wami, perhaps as the favourites.
A victory at the Flora London Marathon would certainly boost their claims as one of the greatest distance runners of all-time. Now 34, Adere has already had a busy season, winning the Dubai Marathon this January in a very fast 2:22:42 and also defended her Chicago title last October, in searing heat. Despite having won many road races in Britain, the tall Ethiopian has an inconsistent London record, having finished fourth and tenth in 2006 and 2007.
Wami, the winner of World Marathon Majors series last year will be looking to improve on her runner-up spot from last year. A three-time Olympic medallist in the past, the former world 10000m champion has won the Berlin Marathon for the past two seasons, as well as finishing second to Paula, in an epic battle in New York last November.
However, a strong Eastern European challenge could dent the Ethiopian attack. Now 39, Lyudmila Petrova has finished second in 2004 and 2006, as well as winning the New York title in 2000 and her team-mate, Svetlana Zakharova is also a former two-time runner-up, as well as having wins in Boston and Chicago from 2003 but at the age of 38, she too might have had her best runs.
From Romania, Constantina Tomescu is a recognisable figure on the London streets. The 38-year-old finished third in this race last year and was the runner-up in 2005 and her team-mate, Adriana Pîrtea, was memorably pipped on the line by Adere at the 2007 Chicago Marathon.
The Kenyan charge will be led by Salina Kosgei, who has been in good form this year and the Japanese-based-Kenyan, Everline Kimwei will make her debut.
Also watch out for Irina Mikitenko. The German record-holder at 3000m and 5000m recently set a half-marathon PB of 68:51 and was second in her debut in Berlin last year. Elsewhere, Algeria’s Souad Ait Salem was the Rome Marathon last year and Chinese Sun Weiwei could surprise.
Fresh from a 15th place at the World Cross Country Championships, Liz Yelling is the favourite to claim the third spot on the British marathon team, along with Radcliffe and Mara Yamauchi. The 33-year-old has shown sparkling form, clocking a sub-70 half-marathon last month and is hoping to crack the 2:30 barrier on Sunday.
However, Hayley Haining is capable of running herself into a place on the Olympic marathon team, having set a half-marathon PB of 71:03 and 2004 Olympian will be looking to make the squad again, at the age of 40.
