Kenya's Martin Lel produced a devastating sprint finish to retain his London Marathon title.

He took advantage of the cool weather to triumph in two hours, five minutes and 15 seconds in a race where the first three finishers broke the course record.

Lel, who won in 2005 and last year and came second in 2006, looked comfortable throughout then piled on the pressure in the last 500 metres to pull away from fellow Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru.

Morocco's Abderrahim Goumri had to settle for a bronze medal.

Britain's best performance in the men's race came from Dan Robinson, who finished 13th with a time of two hours, 13 minutes and 11 seconds.

Liz Yelling took ninth place in the women's race with a time of two hours, 28 minutes and 33 seconds, four minutes behind German winner Irina Mikitenko.

Yelling's victory over rival Hayley Haining of Scotland will almost certainly guarantee her a place in the Great Britain squad at the Beijing Olympics.

About 35,000 runners are expected to complete the 26-mile, 385-yard course from Greenwich and Blackheath in southeast London to Buckingham Palace via Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf.

The race began with staggered starts from 9am, with the professional athletes starting in Blackheath and the main bulk of the runners leaving from Greenwich Park.

The race route was changed slightly because of a gas leak, a marathon spokesman said, adding that the leak had not affected any of the runners.

Organisers say it is the largest single fundraising event in the world.

Celebrity participants include chef Gordon Ramsay and Liberal Democrat London Mayor hopeful Brian Paddick, while ex-Olympic rower James Cracknell and TV presenter Ben Fogle are using the race as a training run for a 400-mile race to the South Pole in November.

Rebecca and Mike Tomlinson, the daughter and husband of multiple marathon runner Jane Tomlinson, are running together.

Jane died in September after a seven-year battle with cancer during which she raised millions for charity.

Blind athlete Dave Heeley, 50, will become the third runner to complete the Seven Magnificent Marathons challenge when he crosses the finishing line, having already run six marathons in six different continents.

Also hoping to break a record is Buster Martin, who is set to become the oldest competitive marathon runner.

The 101-year-old van cleaner is already Britain's oldest working man.

Six Maasai warriors from Tanzania are running the marathon in traditional dress to raise money for a well in their village.

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