Martin Lel fully fit for Great North Run

Martin Lel will be fully fit for the Bupa Great North Run, event organisers have confirmed.

Two years ago the 30-year-old defeated fellow Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru, the world record holder for the distance, to win the half-marathon, but a hip injury, which ruled him out of defending his London Marathon title this year, had put his participation in doubt.

"He's fully recovered from the injury and really looking forward to having another shot at winning the Bupa Great North Run," said Andy Caine, the elite athletes manager for the meeting.

"Lel had a great race with Wanjiru who went on to win last summer's Olympic marathon on his last visit and I'm sure he'll have learned a lot about the difficulties of course which is always a benefit when competing at this level of road running."