Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge will lead Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele and homegrown Mo Farah in on 22nd April at the Virgin London marathon in United Kingdom.
Kipochoge who did not defend his title at the 2017 event, where he was on Breaking 2 project, let the title won by Kenya Wanjiru.
Yesterday, London Marathon organisers released the names of the trio who have accomplished track events as they will showcase the marathon world’s best event with a show across the British capital for the biggest prize money in the sport.
The trio have a combined total of eight Olympic gold medals and 12 world titles between them, with Ethiopia’s Bekele possessing the fastest ratified marathon time of the three, with his 2:03:03 from Berlin in 2016.
This will be the 5,000m and 10,000m world record-holder’s third time racing the London Marathon, after having finished third in 2016 in 2:06:36 when he admitted he was only at around 90 per cent fitness, and then second last year in 2:05:57 behind Daniel Wanjiru.
Farah is the most decorated of the three athletes in terms of global gold medals, with four Olympic wins and six world championships victories over 5,000m and 10,000m, while Bekele has three Olympic and five world championships gold medals to his name and two-time London Marathon champion Kipchoge won the 2016 Olympic marathon as well as world 5000m gold in 2003.
The Kenyan also has that stunning unratified marathon time of 2:00:25 to his name from Nike’s ‘Breaking2’ event in Monza last year. Hugh Brasher, event director of the Virgin Money London Marathon, said: “This is a truly mouth-watering prospect.
“Sir Mo, Eliud and Kenenisa could all put forward a persuasive case for being the GOAT (greatest of all time) and now they meet for the first time over the marathon distance at the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday 22 April.”
Bekele is the first name to be announced as part of the Virgin Money London Marathon’s ‘Elite Week’. Further elite field announcements will be made over the next few days, with ‘Elite Week’ concluding with a live show streamed on Facebook on Thursday January 25 at 1830 GMT when experts will discuss the 2018 line-ups.