Duo have points to prove after missing out on Tokyo Olympics, with a place on the World Championships team up for grabs in October

Charlotte Purdue and Jonny Mellor will lead the British fields at this year’s Virgin Money London Marathon, with both feeling they have a point to prove over the 26.2-mile distance on October 3.

The pair missed out on Olympic selection, with Purdue saying it felt like “she had been thrown under a bus” after being left out of the team for Tokyo. Her PB time of 2:25:38 in winning the British marathon title in London 2019 was well within the qualifying time but injury meant she had to sit out the official trials at Kew Gardens back in March. Instead trials winner Steph Davis was selected, along with Jess Piasecki and Steph Twell.

Purdue, the fourth-fastest British female marathon runner ever, insists she has moved on from the disappointment and is now targeting next summer’s World Athletics Championships.

British Athletics has announced that the first home male and female finisher at this year’s Virgin Money London Marathon will automatically win a place on the team for the global showpiece in Eugene, Oregon, provided they are within the qualifying times, which are 2:29:30 for women and 2:11:30 for men.

“Missing the Olympics was hard to take because it was such a big goal of mine,” said Purdue. “Now I’ve decided I have to move on and focus on something else big and exciting which, for me, is this year’s London Marathon – and look to the next Olympics.

“I always want to run 100 per cent the best I can in any race and I would always want to run well at the London Marathon, but deep down there is a little bit of extra motivation to run really well this year.”

Mellor, meanwhile, had looked in prime position to take a Tokyo place, having been first Briton home during the elite-only London event in 2020 and having run inside the qualifying time twice.

However a freak injury caused when sleeping with a compression sleeve on his calf meant he could not run in the trials, where Chris Thompson and Ben Connor took the two available slots next to the pre-selected Callum Hawkins.

The Liverpool Harrier, whose best is 2:10:03, is also now looking to the future and he said: “I’m really excited to be coming back for my fifth consecutive London Marathon.

“It was a very cool and unique race to be a part of around St James’s Park last year and I was delighted to finish as the first British runner home. Now I’m really looking forward to the noise and the cheer of the crowds again.”

Mellor is joined in the men’s race by Mo Aadan, who finished third at Kew Gardens, and Josh Griffiths of Swansea Harriers, who was third in London last year.

Among the other British women racing in this year’s race are Natasha Cockram, first British finisher last year and runner-up at the Olympics trials, as well as Rose Harvey, who ran a PB of 2:30:58 earlier this year, and Samantha Harrison, the fastest British half marathon runner so far this year.

2021 Virgin London Marathon British Men

2021 Virgin Money London Marathon British Women