Three-time champion Martin Lel should be fit for Sunday's London Marathon after a scan showed that his hip injury was not serious.
The 30-year-old Kenyan, who won the event the past two years and in 2005, was diagnosed with a tendon inflammation following an MRI scan but has no problem with the hip bone, organizers said Thursday.
Organizers said Lel will have treatment over the next three days but should be ready to compete. He is trying to become the first runner to win the London Marathon four times.
Lel, who finished fifth in last year's Olympic marathon after having to recover from malaria, will be up against the three medalists from Beijing and world champion Luke Kibet in one of the strongest fields in the 28-year history of the race.
Organizers have included pacemakers in the hope that the field will challenge Haile Gebrselassie's world record of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 59 seconds.
-AP
