The 35-year-old double world champion sprinted to victory on The Mall last year, beating her fellow Kenyan Florence Kiplagat, the half marathon world record holder, by just three seconds in the closest women's race for 17 years.

The two Kiplagats will meet again in April when they face the 2013 champion, Priscah Jeptoo, and Mary Keitany, who topped the London Marathon podium in 2011 and 2012.

Virgin Money London Marathon Race Director Hugh Brasher said: "Once again we are delighted to be able to announce one of the strongest women's marathon fields ever seen.

"With our last three champions and the world half marathon record holder, these athletes can truly be called the Fantastic Four.

"We are also absolutely thrilled that Paula has chosen London for her final marathon and we know the British crowds will be out in force on 26 April to celebrate her extraordinary career.

"This is a fitting celebration of marathon running in our 35th year."

Edna Kiplagat, pictured after winning last year's Virgin Money London Marathon title, will do battle once again on April 26 with the fellow Kenyan whom she beat by just three seconds on that occasion ©Getty Images


Britain's triple London champion Radcliffe, who returned to competitive running last September after an absence of more than two years following operations to her left foot, will announce her race plans on January 30.

The 41-year-old mother-of-two targeted a final marathon in either the English capital or New York last May, saying: "I'm not thinking I can get back and run 2hr 15min, but if I could come back and run like a sub 2hr 30min then I'd like to do it.

"I'm not saying I could win London or New York but I would like to just run one more and finish on my terms, I'd just like the chance.

"London would be my sentimental choice.

"It's where I started my career, my dad ran it when I was a kid, and then there was missing out on the Olympics at London 2012."

Paula Radcliffe wins the 2012 Vienna Half Marathon. But a foot injury forced her to miss the London 2012 Games later that year and kept her out of competitive action until last September ©AFP/Getty Images

The women's elite field announced today contains seven runners who have completed the 26.2-mile distance in less than two hours 22 minutes, and no fewer than 10 who have run quicker than 2:25.

But it's Kenya's "Fantastic Four" who are expected to battle it out over the closing stages just as they did in 2012 when Keitany smashed the Kenyan record.

"Winning my first London Marathon title on my fourth attempt last year was a special moment for me," said Edna Kiplagat, who was third on her London debut in 2011 and twice a runner-up before her 2014 triumph.

"Now I have tasted success in London, I am determined to win again.

"But I know it will be tougher than ever in 2015, Florence will be hungry to win after getting so close last year, and both Priscah and Mary will be doing their best to regain the number one spot.

"We have all had some great races in London in the past and I am sure it will be even better this year."

Keitany's return to the London Marathon will be keenly anticipated by marathon fans after she won her second title in compelling style three years ago in 2:18:37, a time only Britain's world record holder Paula Radcliffe has ever beaten on the London course.

Keitany made a spectacular return to marathon racing last year when she won the New York City Marathon in November after taking a year out in 2013 to have her second child.

Undefeated over the London course, she is the quickest in this year's line-up by more than a minute and is aiming to become only the fourth woman to win the London Marathon three times.

"I am thrilled to be returning to the London Marathon this year," said Keitany, who turns 33 on Sunday (January 18).

"I have had great success in London before and will be training hard to win my third title."

Both Edna and Florence Kiplagat have also dipped under 2:20 in the past, while Jeptoo set her personal best of 2:20:14 when she was third in London three years ago.

After failing to finish last year, the 2012 Olympic silver medallist will be keen to make amends this time.

The Kenyan contingent is further strengthened by New York City Marathon runner-up Jemima Sumgong, while Feyse Tadese and Tigist Tufa provide the Ethiopian threat.

Tadese was fourth last year and second in September's Berlin Marathon, while Tufa won marathons in Ottawa and Shanghai in 2014. All three have the pedigree to push for top three places.

European champion Christelle Daunay of France will take on the East Africans on the streets of London ©Getty Images



The East Africans won't have it all their own way though.

The 2015 field contains a number of strong European runners led by three women who have all gone sub-2:25 - Russia's 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Tatyana Arkhipova; Ukraine's Tetyana Gamera-Shmyrko, the 2014 Osaka champion who was seventh in London last year, and last year's European champion, Christelle Daunay of France.

The strong field also contains a pair of Portuguese contenders in Ana Dulce Félix, who was eighth last year, and Sara Moreira, who was third on her marathon debut in New York last November.

And Spain's Alessandra Aguilar could also target a top 10 spot - she has finished fifth at World and European Championships in recent years.

Other British runners are Sonia Samuels, a top 20 finisher at the Moscow 2013 World Championships, elite late-comer Emma Stepto, who was 14th last year at the age of 44, and Rebecca Robinson, who ran for Britain at the 2010 European Championships after finishing 18th in the London Marathon that year.

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