LONDON, April 16: Two world record holders who found fulfilment on the road after years of frustration on the track have plenty to prove in Sunday’s London marathon after disappointing displays at last year’s Athens Olympics. Kenya’s Paul Tergat, the fastest man ever over the marathon with two hours four minutes 55 seconds in the 2003 Berlin race, faded to 10th in Athens after starting as favourite.

Briton Paula Radcliffe, an even hotter favourite for the women’s Olympic title after her world record of 2:15:25 in the 2003 London event, dropped out after 36 of the 42.195 kms.

Both have since demonstrated that they deserve to start Sunday’s 25th anniversary race as favourites.

Tergat clocked 59.10 in last month’s Lisbon half-marathon, second only to the 59.06 he recorded over the same course five years ago.

Radcliffe showed her competitive steel after her Athens traumas by winning the New York marathon last November.

The men’s race has been devalued slightly by the absence of Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie, who beat Tergat to the line over 10,000 metres in two Olympic Games and two world championships.

Gebrselassie will act as one of the celebrity starters instead but even without him the men’s field contains plenty of quality runners, including Italy’s Olympic gold medallist Stefano Baldini and Kenya’s defending champion Evans Rutto.—Reuters