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Old rivals Kipchoge and Bekele face off in London

An unfamiliar course, poor weather and the absence of 750,000 cheering fans suggest a world record is unlikely in Sunday’s London Marathon but long-standing rivals Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele could still produce a race for the ages.

After the cancellation of the original race in April due to Covid-19, organisers have pulled together an elite-only event, featuring almost 20 laps of St James’s Park, behind high fences and watched only by a handful of journalists, coaches and event officials.

For Kenya’s Kipchoge, this will feel familiar after he became the first man to break two hours on a similar multi-lap course in Vienna last year, his one hour, 59.40 minutes time ruled unofficial due to pacemaker and drink station anomalies.

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There is no getting around his official record, however, posted 2:01.39 in Berlin in 2018 to destroy the existing mark by 78 seconds and seal his position as the sport’s greatest-ever over the 26.2 mile distance.

Ethiopia’s Bekele had his own “GOAT” claim after winning multiple world and Olympic track titles and setting long-standing world records.

His marathon best seemed to be behind him until he somehow found a 2:01.41 in Berlin last year to miss Kipchoge’s mark by two seconds.

That made the East African duo the only men to have broken two hours, two minutes for the distance.

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