Wanjiru eyes record time

Sammy Wanjiru has refused to hide from his tag as favourite to wrest the Flora London Marathon title from defending champion Martin Lel on Sunday, insisting a record-breaking time could be in his grasp.

Olympic gold medallist Wanjiru tops the bill alongside fellow Kenyan Lel - a three-time winner of the event. Wanjiru, runner up behind Lel 12 months ago in a personal best 2hr 5min 24sec, is confident a groundbreaking time is within his capabilities.

"Here on Sunday if the pace is very good, I will try to break the world record," said 22-year-old Wanjiru the first Kenyan to win the Olympic marathon gold.

Also expected to be in contention are Jaouad Gharib and Tsegaye Kebede - the Olympic silver and bronze medallists behind Wanjiru last summer.

The performance of Moroccan Gharib came as little surprise, but that of the Kebede - a relative newcomer to the marathon distance - raised eyebrows.

Kebede, defying the heat and humidity in the Chinese capital, timed his race to perfection when passing fellow Ethiopian Deriba Merga just 200m from the finish line to snatch third place.

It was an amazing display from the 22-year-old rookie who only took up marathon running two years ago but he confirmed it was no fluke when smashing Wanjiru's Fukuoka course record of two hours, six minutes and 10seconds last December.

Now Kebede is confident he can do himself justice this weekend against the best field assembled since Wanjiru scored his dominant victory in the Bird's Nest stadium.

"This is my first time in London so I don't know the course or what to expect from the weather," said Kebede.

"But I have done some good training in Ethiopia and will show on the day what I can do. I don't want to guess. Everyone comes here wanting to win, but we will have to see what happens in the race."