Keitany, Mutai titles on the line

London

There’s more than one thing on the minds of defending champions Emmanuel Mutai and Mary Keitany ahead of Sunday’s Virgin London Marathon – retaining the titles they won so decisively 12 months ago in this IAAF Gold Label Road Race, and gaining selection for the Olympic Games.

With the London Games now less than 100 days away, the ‘Olympics’ has hovered like an uncertain air over the build-up to this year’s event; or, rather, ‘Olympics, question mark?’ for many of the world class athletes racing this weekend do so with a place on the Olympic start line in a little over three months’ time still up for grabs.

That goes, not just for Mutai and Keitany, but for men’s World record holder Patrick Makau and women’s World champion Edna Kiplagat, too. Indeed, Sunday’s races have been dubbed by race director David Bedford the ‘unofficial’ Kenyan Olympic trials.

Not without reason. Back in January Kenyan selectors named six men and six women on Olympic shortlists, and Bedford duly snapped up four of the men and three women for his London race.

After Geoffrey Mutai failed to finish the Boston Marathon last Monday, and Moses Moses Mosop was ‘only’ third in Rotterdam a day earlier, the situation on the men’s side is definitely still ‘all to play for’.

Tougher race expected

Mutai, who ran 2 hours, 4 minutes and 40 seconds in 2011 to set a new course record, admitted it will be tougher this year not least because he suffered a bout of typhoid just a month ago, missed a few days training at the end of March and took a week or two to regain full fitness.

“For me this will definitely be a tougher competition than last year because the field is so strong,” he said this week. “Everyone has run a good time so I will have to perform at my best.

“I had a fever a few weeks ago and was under medication. But I am feeling better now and my recovery has been good. I will have to be at my best.”

No kidding. Mutai’s name tops an elite men’s line-up that matches in speed and quality any that Bedford has put together over the last half decade, five remarkable years in which the London course record has been broken three times and new standards established in men’s marathon running, here and around the world.

Few would bet against the London record being lowered again today, for this year’s race features 10 men who have run the Marathon in under 2 hours six minutes, and 15 who have broken 2:08.

What’s more, the race features the top seven finishers from last year’s contest, three of the top five from the Beijing Olympics, and all three medallists from the Daegu World Championships in Korea last summer.

Attached to the names in the men’s field are titles such as World record holder, double World champion, World Marathon Majors champion, reigning and former London champions, London course record holder, double Berlin champion, double Frankfurt champion and former two-times New York champion.

Mutai went on from London to finish second in New York last November pocketing half a million dollars as World Marathon Majors champion and has arrived in the British capital this year in good spirits after seeing two of his training partners win medals in big city marathons last weekend – Henry Sugut, who broke the Vienna course record last Sunday, and Bernard Kipyego who was third in Boston on Monday. (Iaaf.org)

Elite list:Men: Emmanuel Mutai  (Ken) 2:04:40; Patrick Makau (Ken)2:03:38; Wilson Kipsang (Ken)2:03:42; Markos Geneti (Eth)D.N.S; Abel Kirui (Ken)2:05:04; Vincent Kipruto (Ken) 2:05:13; Martin Lel (Ken)2:05:15; Tsegaye Kebede (Eth); Feyisa Lilesa (Eth); Bazu Worku (Eth)2; Jaouad Gharib (Mar); Marilson Gomes Dos Santos (Bra); Yared Asmeron ( Eri); Samuel Tsegay (Eri)2:07:28; Abreham Cherkos (Eth)2:07:29; Abderrahim Bouramdane (Mar)2:07:33; Adil Annani  (Mar) 2:10:15; Solonei Rocha Da Silva (Bra) 2:11:32; Scott Westcott (Aus); 2:11:36; Zersenay Tadese (Eri) 2:12:03. Women: Mary Keitany (Ken) 2:19:19; Irina Kikitenko (Ger) 2:19:19; Lucy Kabuu  (Ken)2:19:34; Florence Kiplagat(Ken)2:19:44; Aberu Kebede (Eth)2:20:33; Edna Kiplagat (Ken)2:20:46; Constantina Dita (Rou) 2:21:30; Atsede Baysa(Eth)2:22:04; Ejegayehu Dibaba (Eth)2:22:09; Inga Abitova (Rus)2:22:19; Koren Jelela (Eth) 2:22:43; Priscah Jeptoo (Ken) 2:22:55.