Patrick Makau predicts his world record could fall at London Marathon
Current holder Patrick Makau says his own world record could be beaten at next month's London Marathon.
Last Updated: 22/03/13 12:39pm
The event, on 21 April, will see the strongest men's marathon field ever assembled, with the top 11 elite runners all with times under two hours and six minutes.
The three medallists from the London Olympics, plus the winners of the 2012 Berlin, Chicago, London, Frankfurt and Dubai Marathons will all be present.
Makau, who set his world record of 2:03:38 in Berlin in 2011, said there is a good chance that time will be beaten what is a relatively fast London course.
"If the weather conditions are good, we will all be in the mix to attempt the world record. I expect a very fast race considering the strong Kenyan line-up," he said.
Makau is hoping for more luck this year than he did last season which was wrecked by injuries.
"I am in a better shape. Obviously as the holder of the world record, I hope I will break the time I set in Berlin. But I wouldn't be surprised if any of us breaks the record as we have been running very good times recently," he said.
Wilson Kipsang, the defending London champion whose personal best is just four seconds behind Makau's record, also predicted a hard and fast pace will be forced early on to eliminate the slower but more tactical runners.
"Three of us have run under 2:04 and four others have come under 2:05. I expect a very competitive race. I don't see any athlete from another country challenging the Kenyans," he said.
"I will be under a lot of pressure against one of the strongest fields ever. But England is like a second home for me, I won two races there last year."
Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai, the fastest runner in 2012, is also expected to challenge - he ran the world best time of 2:03:02 in Boston in 2011 - but that did not count as an official world record as the course is, overall, downhill.
The top non-Kenyan challengers are Ethiopia's Ayele Abshero and Tsegaye Kebede, both 2:04 runners.