Having enjoyed a breakthrough year which started with a personal best time of 2 hours 7min 2sec at the Dubai Marathon in January, Lemma will be targeting a second marathon victory of the season in Frankfurt.

The Ethiopian, who began his career at the age of 17 running barefoot due to a lack of running shoes, secured his biggest win in the Austrian capital city Vienna during April where he crossed the line in another impressive time of 2:07:31.

However, having stated that fiercer competition and less wind at the race could have seen him run 2:05:00, Lemma will be aiming to live up to that claim in Frankfurt as he targets earning a spot in his country’s team for the Rio 2016 Olympics.

The home focus in the men’s event will be on Arne Gabius, who will be targeting a German record in front of a home crowd, with the current mark set at 2:08:47.

In addition to Lemma, who also boasts a win at the 2013 Warsaw Marathon among his achievements, the Ethiopian’s compatriot Koren Jelela has been announced as a late entry to the women’s field.

The 28-year-old will begin the race ranked as the fastest woman in the event having produced a time of 2:22:43 at the Toronto Marathon in 2011, however she is still seeking to regain her top form having returned to elite competition this year after giving birth.

Instead another Ethiopian in Meseret Mengistu Biru, the winner of the Paris Marathon in April, will begin as the favourite to secure the race victory having gone unbeaten for a year and four races.

However, she will be expected to face the challenge of several more of her team-mates, including Ashete Bekere Dido and Dinknesh Mekash Tefera who have personal best times of 2:23:43 and 2:25:09 respectively.

Meanwhile Lisa Hahner will be among the favourites to secure victory in the German Championships, which are included as part of the Frankfurt Marathon, and should she set a personal best time of 2:28:30 the 25-year-old would meet the country’s Olympic criteria.

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