One hundred years after the marathon distance was standardized as 26 miles and 385 yards at the 1908 London Olympics, the Kenyan Lel made an argument for his being the greatest current master of that distance as he joined Dionicio Ceron and Antonio Pinto as a three-time London Marathon titlist, out-gunning Sammy Wanjiru by nine seconds in a course record 2:05:15. "I was under pressure to do something today," realized Lel. "They asked for something and I gave something." He successfully defended his 2007 laurels; he'd also won in 2005. The race was actually on world-record pace for about 20 miles. Abderrahim Goumri's third place 2:05:30 was a Moroccan national record in the first marathon ever to have six men finish under 2:07. “To win this race you have to work extra hard,” observed a happy Lel. “This is one of the best races I have done. Now I want to come back next year and make it three in a row.” It's expected that Lel and Wanjiru will both be named to the Kenyan Olympic team. Lel is now the fourth-fastest marathoner of all-time behind Haile Gebrselassie, Paul Tergat and Sammy Korir. More(photo of Martin Lel by Victah Sailer)

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