Why mayor Ken can't come under starter's orders
It is usually athletes who make late withdrawals because of injury or illness but this year's official starters for the London Marathon are falling like flies.
After London 2012 bid leader Seb Coe pulled out of his appointment to start the women's race because of Olympic commitments, organisers were surprised today by the late withdrawal of London mayor Ken Livingstone.
Like Coe, Livingstone, who was due to start the wheelchairs and mass race, has realised he needs time to get over to Berlin for a conference of international sports officials where London 2012 are giving a midafternoon presentation.
Anybody who had studied the flight timetables weeks ago would have realised it was always going to be a rush to attend the marathon starts from 9am and then make it to the German capital in time.
Organisers are hoping the timing of the leading athletes and their pacemakers in the men's race is better prepared.
Kenyan world record holder Paul Tergat believes he could better his mark of 2hr 4min 55sec from Berlin two years ago - if the elements are in his favour.
The course has been altered this year with 18 bends removed. Organisers estimate the changes will make times about 45 seconds faster than in previous years.
The forecast is for a dry day with light winds and a maximum temperature of 13 degrees which would help a record attempt.
One of Tergat's rivals will be Olympic champion Stefano Baldini, who has won celebrity status in his native Italy on a par with Kelly Holmes in Britain since his triumph at last year's Athens Olympics.
Tergat finished 10th in Athens after suffering stomach cramps. But he won the Lisbon half-marathon on 13 March in the secondfastest time ever of 59min 10sec, beating Baldini and world champion Jaouad Gharib.
Last year's champion Evans Rutto of Kenya, who missed selection for Athens, is also back to defend his title.
Rutto, 27, has finished first in each of his three marathons and won by half a minute in London last year despite tripping over a metal security barrier and sustaining cuts to his knees.
