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Dent fourteenth in London
Australian Martin Dent has finished 14th in the London Marathon as Olympic champion Sammy Wanjiru set a new course record to win the event in 2:05:10.
Wanjiru stormed home to break Martin Lel's year-old record of 2:05:15 after a gripping battle with Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede, who finished just 10 seconds behind.
Competing in just his second marathon in four years Martin crossed the line in 2:15:24, just missing out on the B-qualifying time he set his sights on prior to the race.
The reigning national cross country champion is now in the hands of the selectors as he rounds out his push for selection to the world championships team to compete in Berlin in August.
Also gunning for a berth in the Australian team are Lee Troop, Andrew Letherby, Mark Tucker and Scott Westcott. A selection announcement is expected within weeks.
In London Lel was forced to pull out of the race due to injury leaving the three Olympic medallists to take the podium places, Beijing bronze medallist Kebede placing second and Jaouad Gharib, the silver medallist from China, smashing his personal best by more than a minute and a half to finish third in 2:05:27.
When three men broke 2:06 for the first time in history last year the 2008 London Marathon was described as the greatest in history. The first three home were even quicker this year but, remarkably, there was an air of disappointment at the end.
Wanjiru had predicted he would break Haile Gebrselassie's world record of 2:03:59, and when the young Kenyan woke to see perfect conditions across the British capital he must have believed it was his day with light winds, hardly a cloud in the sky, and temperatures expected to rise no higher than 15 degrees.
But early speed put paid to Wanjiru's hopes as the leaders sped through halfway in 61:35 after setting off inside two-hour pace. Asked to take the leaders to 20 miles, they could never maintain such a high tempo.
While some thought the chance to make history had been thrown away, for Wanjiru the win was enough.
"A course record is very good but in the end it was better to win the race because of all the good runners around me," said Wanjiru who moves into seventh place on the all-time list ahead of Lel.
Kebede moves into the top 10, while the times of the three medallists mean London is the second quickest marathon in the world, the average of its top ten times being just two seconds slower than Berlin.
For the Eritrean debutant Zersenay Tadese it was a baptism of fire. The three-time world half marathon champion found the going too tough at the full distance and, after staying with the leaders through the first 25km, he dropped out at 35km.
World champion Luke Kibet was also forced to withdraw; the Kenyan gave up the ghost at 25km.
Many had high hopes for Tadese as he made his first marathon appearance in a field described as the greatest ever, even without Lel. The three-time champion was forced to withdraw on Saturday night, still troubled by a sore right hip he injured during his final training session last weekend.
"I need to be cautious," Lel said.
"The injury is not serious but the pain means I would not be at my best tomorrow."
They set off from Greenwich in perfect conditions as the three Kenyan pacemakers, Elijah Keitany Kiplagat, Samuel Kosgei and John Kales, led them away at a pelt, clocking 4:35 for the first mile with Wanjiru, Gharib and Kebede right on their heels.
Tadese and last year's third-placer Abderrahim Goumri hung towards the back of a group of ten along with Kenyan Emannuel Mutai, and the two surprises, South Africa's Hendrick Ramaala and Morocco's Ridouane Harroufi (a 2:10 man at his best).
The third mile was clicked off in 4:22 and by the time they went through the 5km point, in 14:06, they were already inside two-hour pace. The pacemakers took a leading group of eight through the second 5km almost as quickly (14:24) and they passed 10km in a punishing 28:30, 40 seconds quicker than Gebrselassie ran during his world record in Berlin last September.
Surely it couldn't last - at this pace they would pass halfway in one hour exactly. They slowed slightly with a third 5km of 14:42, but at 15km were still up on Gebrselassie's schedule at 43:12 - 2:01-2:02 pace. They passed halfway in 61:35, the fastest halfway split in marathon history. They'd been asked to go through in 61:50, so this was great running with eight still shadowing the pacemakers.
But the blistering pace soon took its toll with mile splits drifting to 4:55, 4:59 and 5:00 through miles 14, 15 and 16. At 25km (1:13:35) they were still inside world record schedule although the pacemakers were slowing dramatically.
In the 18th mile Ramaala decided he'd had enough and pushed on, taking Wanjiru, Gharib and Kebede clear with a 4:37 surge for the 19th mile that left Tadese adrift. As they headed towards Canary Wharf, Wanjiru decided enough was enough and made a burst followed immediately by Kebede and Gharib.
The two 22-year-olds looked as fresh as Sunday morning joggers, while the 36-year-old Gharib, with a best of 2:07:02, couldn't match their youthful zeal.
Shortly after mile 20, Wanjiru made his bid for glory and opened a lead on Kebede. Just as he had in Beijing last summer, the young Kenyan defied the swift early pace and kicked ahead, running 4:40 and 4:46 for the 20th and 21st miles.
Kebede had come to London hoping to bring Ethiopia its second major marathon victory in a week, but now he had to watch as the Kenyan gradually turned the screw. He glanced back to see Gharib still in touch and desperately trying to close the gap. Kebede responded and began to close on Wanjiru.
As they strode along the Embankment, the Kenyan led by 20m from the Ethiopian - with less than two miles to go, the race was definitely still on. Yet each time Kebede closed Wanjiru appeared to sense the threat and kicked again, stretching away like a ball on elastic.
By this stage of the Olympic final the world half marathon record holder had been away and clear, but this time he was running like a scared rabbit. Glancing back, he knew it wasn't over yet. He turned the corner at the Houses of Parliament and put in another burst up Birdcage Walk. Finally, Kebede was broken.
Lel may not have been able to defend his title but the great Kenyan must have been delighted to see his friend following in his footsteps. Wanjiru sprinted down The Mall to take his team mate's course record in 2:05:10.
"It was a tough race today," he said.
"All the good runners around make you run well. It wasn't until the last 200m or so that I had the feeling that I was going to win."
Kebede had given it everything, and was rewarded for his efforts with a personal best by 50 seconds.
"At around 42km I felt I had to keep running as hard and as fast as I could because I wanted to win," he said. "There were some very good runners here and to beat most of them is a good feeling. As for winning, maybe next year."
"It was a really tough race," said Gharib.
"It was difficult to hold on and I think we went too fast in the first half. Every time I got close to the leader he went a little faster. At the end I gave it all I could and I could not hold on."
Mutai was fourth for the second year in a row in 2:06:53 while Ramaala, fifth in 2:07:44, capped a great return to form in the 25th marathon of his career.
Wanjiru's victory was the sixth in a row for Kenya in the men's race and means the east African nation is now the most successful in London Marathon history with one more men's winner than Great Britain whose last victory came in 1993.
Germany's Irina Mikitenko won the women's race in a time of 2:22:11, a full minute ahead of Great Britain's Mara Yamauchi (2:23:12) and Russia's Liliya Shobukova (2:24:24).
Article courtesy of www.london-marathon.co.uk
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