NAIROBI, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Four Kenyan women led by defending champion Vivian Cheruiyot, Mary Keitany, Brigid Kosgei and Gladys Cherono agree that there is no clear favorite among them when they line up on Sunday for the London marathon.
The four current major marathon champions in the line-up - Cheruiyot (London), Keitany (New York), Kosgei (Chicago) and Cherono (Berlin) - have all but one request to make Tokyo Olympics in 2020. That journey starts in London on Sunday.
However, the quartet are full of mutual admiration and would let their legs do the talking on Sunday.
"We are all sisters, some training together and we love each other. Marathon is an individual sport and we will try to play by the rule and see the strongest pull away. But there is the challenge from Ethiopia and all other runners, we can't allow complacency creep in our minds," Cheruiyot said on Friday.
Cheruiyot, world number two in marathon, ran a perfectly judged race in London last year to overtake Keitany, who paid the price for running with male pacemakers in the opening half as she went in pursuit of Paula Radcliffe's world record of 2:15:25. She eventually faded to a weary fifth.
"I am here to win and I don't care who is in the race. I run my own race as Vivian and the rest have their own strategy," Cheruiyot said.
Keitany, who turned the tables on Cheruiyot by winning her fourth New York title in November and is currently ranked world 23, is not obsessing about the clock this time and has her eyes set on equaling Norwegian Ingrid Kristiansen's record of four London victories.
Cheruiyot is a relative marathon novice following a glittering career on the track and feels there is plenty of room for improvement.
Having lowered her personal best at the Lisbon Half Marathon in March, she sees no reason why she cannot improve on her marathon best of 2:18:31, which she clocked in London a year ago.
"My shape is better than last year and if the weather is good, I know I'm going to run my personal best," she said. "In Lisbon it was hard because I was all alone pushing the fast pace. In London we are happy to have pacesetters. That course record can be beaten."
Cherono, world No. 13, completed a hat-trick of Berlin victories last year with a personal best of 2:18:11. She is also confident about her shape and believes the women's world record of 2:17:01, set by Keitany in London two years ago, could well come under threat on Sunday if the weather behaves.
Kosgei, world No. 4 and last year's runner-up, is the fourth quickest in the field after clocking 2:18:35 to win in Chicago. She has also shown outstanding half-marathon form in recent months, smashing her personal best in Houston and then lowering it further in Bahrain.
She has chalked up five victories and three runner-up spots in her nine marathons to date and could well be one to watch. With sub-2:20 Ethiopians Roza Dereje and Birhane Dibaba also in contention, the race looks wide open.
At 25, Kosgei holds the future of women marathon in Kenya, will she prevail against her seniors in London? Only the race on Sunday tells the answer.
