Lel sprints to second London Marathon title

By Alison Wildey

LONDON (Reuters) - Martin Lel of Kenya sprinted to victory in the London Marathon on Sunday in two hours seven minutes 41 seconds to retain the men's title he won in 2005.

There was disappointment for former Olympic 10,000 meters champion Haile Gebrselassie, who did not finish the race, while marathon world record holder Paul Tergat fell off the pace in the final two km to finish sixth.

Gebrselassie had been up with the lead group before stepping off the road shortly after the 30 km mark clutching his stomach.

Asked what he thought had caused him to pull up, the 34-year-old told BBC television: "I don't know ... maybe it was something I drank."

Lel, who was outsprinted last year by compatriot Felix Limo, was not about to let the same thing happen again and held off Morocco's Abderrahim Goumri in the race for the line.

Goumri, competing in his first marathon, was second, three seconds behind Lel. Defending champion Limo took third in 2:07.47.

The real battle for the title only got underway in the last two km. The front group of six also included Tergat, Morocco's double world champion Jaouad Gharib and former New York winner Hendrik Ramaala of South Africa.

Tergat and Ramaala were dropped and Gharib, second to Lel in 2005, could not maintain the sprint to the finish.

Lel's win continued Kenya's dominance in the race over the past few years with the country's fourth successive men's victory.