Virgin London Marathon 2011 – Men’s Preview: Kebede defends his title

Race director David Bedford has again produced an elite line-up for the Virgin London Marathon that reads like a virtual who's who of world marathon running.

On 17 April, London will host a race featuring eight of the top 10 men from last year's contest, including all three medallists; three of the top five from the Beijing Olympics; all three medallists from the 2009 Berlin World Championships; the three 2010 European Championships medallists; the fastest man in the world last year; the third and fourth fastest men of all time; and no fewer than seven athletes who have run 26.2 miles quicker than two hours six minutes.

Among those who'll toe the start line on 17 April are the defending champion, Tsegaye Kebede, the world champion, Abel Kirui, the European champion, Viktor Röthlin, the Berlin champion, Patrick Makau, and the two-times New York Marathon champion, Marîlson Gomes dos Santos. Add the late entrant, London's own three-times champion Martin Lel, and it's a mouth-watering prospect, to say the least.

In Kebede, the race features the world and Olympic bronze medallist, a man who deposed Olympic champion Sammy Wanjiru here last year when he romped home in 2 hours 5 minutes 19 seconds, just nine seconds outside the Kenyan's course record.

Kebede became the first non-Kenyan to claim the London crown since his compatriot Gezahegne Abera won in 2003 and following Wanjiru's withdrawal three weeks ago, few would bet against him retaining his title.
Yet, such is the quality of the 2011 field, that Kebede is only the fifth fastest man in the line-up. It's four Kenyans who hold the four best times with James Kwambai the quickest of all. Indeed, Kwambai's PB of 2:04:27 makes him the third fastest marathon man in history, while Makau, the Rotterdam and Berlin champion from last year, is fourth fastest ever with his best of 2:04:48.

Kirui, whose best is 2:05:04, was fifth in London last year after running together with Kebede until the last few miles, while Lel, whose PB was a London course record in 2008, returns after two years of injury problems. Indeed, Lel's last full marathon was at the Beijing Olympics when he finished fifth.

Running well in London is not all about fast times, of course, as another Kenyan, Emmanuel Mutai, proved last year when he emerged late in the race to finish second. He and the Moroccan, Jaouad Gharib, who was third in 2009 and 2010, and has twice won the world title, will again pose serious threats.

Others likely to feature this year include the young Ethiopian Bazu Worku, holder of the unofficial world junior record; Morocco's Abderrahim Bouramdane, who was fourth on his London debut in 2010; and Röthlin, the Swiss runner who recovered from serious illness to take the European title in Barcelona last August.

Andrew Lemoncello will lead the British challenge following his promising debut in 2010. The US-based Scot, who finished eighth last year in 2:13:40, will have his eyes on 2:12:00, UK Athletics' World Championships and Olympic qualifying standard.

Elite Men: Entries

Bib no. Name Nation PB Bib name
1 Tsegaye Kebede ETH 2:05:18 KEBEDE
2 James Kwambai KEN 2:04:27 KWAMBAI
3 Patrick Makau KEN 2:04:48 MAKAU
5 Abel Kirui KEN 2:05:04 KIRUI
6 Bazu Worku ETH 2:05:25 WORKU
7 Jaouad Gharib MAR 2:05:27 GHARIB
8 Emmanuel Mutai KEN 2:06:15 MUTAI
9 Viktor Röthlin SUI 2:07:23 ROTHLIN
10 Abderrahim Bouramdane MAR 2:07:33 BOURAMDANE
11 Yonas Kifle ERI 2:07:34 KIFLE
12 José Manuel Martínez ESP 2:08:09 MARTINEZ
13 Marilson Gomes dos Santos BRA 2:08:37 DOS SANTOS
14 Lee Troop AUS 2:09:49 TROOP
15 Dmitriy Safronov RUS 2:10:12 SAFRONOV
16 Luis Feiteira POR 2:11:57 FEITEIRA
18 Ser-Od Bat-Ochir MGL 2:12:42 BAT-OCHIR
19 Jason Lehmkuhle USA 2:12:24 LEHMKUHLE
20 Mike Shelley AUS 2:13:05 SHELLEY
21 Michael Aish USA 2:13:21 AISH
22 Andrew Lemoncello GBR 2:13:40 LEMONCELLO
23 Collis Birmingham AUS Debut BIRMINGHAM
24 Mohamed Trafeh USA Debut TRAFEH
25 Stephan Shay USA Debut SHAY
26 Patrick Smyth USA Debut SMYTH
27 Martin Lel KEN 2:05:15 LEL