The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Big four to line up in London
Farah targets British record – as well as Wanjiru’s title
Daniel Wanjiru will face a daunting task when he defends his Virgin London Marathon title against three of the greatest ever distance runners tomorrow.
Wanjiru was a surprise winner of the 2017 men’s race when he held off the challenge of Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele to take the title and succeed Olympic gold medallist Eliud Kipchoge as London Marathon champion.
In London, with only three previous outings over the distance, he proved that performance was no fluke when he made a break just before the 21-mile mark and battled hard over the final five miles to beat Bekele who had fallen behind after suffering with blisters.
Both Bekele and Kipchoge, the second and third fastest men in history over 26.2 miles, will be back on the London start line alongside multiple world and Olympic track champion Sir Mo Farah, who became the second fastest British marathon runner on his debut four years ago. Kipchoge will be hoping to complete a hat-trick of victories in London, the 2016 Olympic Games marathon champion set a course record with his victory in the capital two years ago.
Meanwhile, Farah believes he will break the British record targeting Steve Jones’s record of 2:07:13, set in 1985.
“I have learned a lot since I made my marathon debut in London in 2014,” said Farah.
“I understand the marathon more, so I will go after the British record and see what I’m capable of.”
Targeting a place at this summer’s European Championships, Shettleston’s Tsegai Tewelde has achieved the men’s qualification time of 2:16:00 but will need to be among the top two Britons across the line to guarantee his place in Berlin.
In the elite women’s race, Mary Keitany will attempt to follow in the footsteps of Paula Radcliffe as she aims for the outright women’s world record.
The Kenyan clocked 2:17:01 to break Radcliffe’s women-only world mark in the UK capital last year and tomorrow she will be accompanied by male pacemakers as she targets Radcliffe’s 2:15:25 from London in 2003.
Tracy Barlow and Lily Partridge could be the top UK contenders. Barlow was 16th overall in last year’s race in 2:30:42, while Partridge clocked 2:32:10 to place fourth in Seville last spring.