London (AFP)

The most anticipated race in history is losing its flavor.

Expected as an enticing clash between two legends of the running, the London marathon will count Sunday on the Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge to forget the package of the Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, announced Friday.

Already upset by the health crisis, the London marathon faces a new earthquake with the abandonment in the home stretch of Bekele, injured in the left calf.

An epic duel had been promised for months between these two racing giants, all the more eagerly awaited since September 2019 when the Ethiopian had approached the Kenyan world record in Berlin (2 h 01 min 41 sec against 2 h 01 min 39 sec for Kipchoge in Berlin in 2018).

London will have to "be satisfied" with Eliud Kipchoge, who, after a successful career on the track (two Olympic medals, two world medals including one title), has unquestionably become the best marathoner in history: he has eleven victories in twelve races, including the Olympic title in 2016, eight successes divided between Chicago, Berlin and London, the world record, and he managed to break the mythical two-hour barrier in an unofficial race in October 2019 in Vienna (1 h 59 min 41 sec).

- "A transition race" -

Big favorite of the race, Kipchoge will see two other Ethiopian outsiders trying to push him to his limits, a year after they had already bowed to the master in London.

Mosinet Geremew (28) had become the 4th performer of all time on this occasion (2 h 2 min 55, 18 seconds from Kipchoge), Mule Wasihun (26) the 8th (2 h 3 min 16 sec).

"Maybe it will be a transition race with a possible victory for young people because age, irremediably, should start to play a role," says AFP specialist marathon trainer Jean-Claude Vollmer, then that Kipchoge will celebrate his 36th birthday in November.

The race should have been as usual greeted by the crowd in front of the most emblematic London monuments.

But the new coronavirus pandemic, which postponed the race from April to October, forced the organizers to plan an alternative route, a loop of 2.15 km around St James Park, in front of Buckingham Palace, which will not host any spectator.

- "Not in the waters of the world record" -

The question of the world record inevitably arises, despite the unknown route and the age of Kipchoge.

"I think that at the performance level, one should not expect great miracles. They will not be in the waters of the world record because of this truncated preparation (because of the confinement) and the fact that it is is a circuit with bends and is likely to rain, ”explains Vollmer.

The rain could indeed come with a cool temperature (around 10 degrees), all the more so for the women's race which will start at 8.15 am, three hours before the men.

A duel is expected between the Kenyan world record holder Brigid Kosgei (2 h 14 min 04 sec) and her compatriot world champion Ruth Chepngetich.

In a second peloton, the British star Mo Farah will serve as a luxury hare for a few dozen runners in search of the minimums for the Tokyo Olympics (2 h 11 min 30 sec), postponed to the summer of 2021.

After being frozen since April due to the health crisis, the Games qualification process resumed in September for marathon and walking, and will resume on December 1 for other athletics disciplines.

© 2020 AFP