Patrick Makau and Emmanuel Mutai will form one third of a six-strong Kenyan assault on the Virgin London Marathon on April 22 when they take each other on to compete for highly-coveted places on their national Olympic team.

Mutai smashed the London course record last year to win in 2:04:40, but he may have to be even quicker in 2012 as competition will be fiercer than ever. All six Kenyan athletes racing in London boast personal bests faster than 2:05:15, while a further four athletes from other nations also possess sub-2:05:30 PBs.

Kenyan Olympic selectors named a provisional list of six men for the Games earlier this week, and four of those will be in London. The final team will be announced on April 30, just eight days after the London Marathon.

As well as Mutai and Makau, the list includes double world champion Abel Kirui and Frankfurt champion Wilson Kipsang. They will be joined in London by two other team-mates – three-times London champion Martin Lel, who was second last year, and Vincent Kipruto, the world silver medallist in Daegu.

After finishing third in London last April, Makau won his place on the selectors’ shortlist when he broke Haile Gebrselassie’s world record in Berlin last September with 2:03:38. Kirui sealed his spot when he retained his world title at the Daegu World Championships last summer.

Mutai followed up his record-breaking London victory by finishing second in New York last November, pocketing half a million dollars as World Marathon Majors champion. Kipsang was just four seconds outside Makau’s world record when he retained his Frankfurt title at the end of October.

The other men named by Kenya’s selectors are Geoffrey Mutai and Moses Mosop, who ran superfast times to finish first and second in Boston last April, the fastest race ever run. Mutai will compete there again on April 16, while Mosop will take part in Rotterdam on April 15.

As ever, the strongest challengers aside from the Kenyan runners will come from Ethiopia and they too will have to impress selectors ahead of the Olympics.

Leading the charge will be former London winner Tsegaye Kebede, the only non-Kenyan to win the London men’s title in the last eight years. He will be joined by former world junior marathon record-holder Bazu Worku, multiple world youth record-holder Abreham Cherkos, former world youth champion and marathon newcomer Markos Geneti, and world bronze medallist Feyisa Lelisa, who has already started the year in fine form with a big 59:22 PB over the half-marathon.

Kenya’s Kirui won’t be the only two-time world champion in London, as Morocco’s Jaouad Gharib is set to compete. His compatriots Abderrahim Bouramdane, fourth at the World Championships last year, and Adil Annani, seventh at the 2009 World Championships, will join Gharib on the start line.

Zersenay Tadese is another multiple global champion in attendance in London. The four-time winner of the World Half-Marathon Championships will be looking to finally crack the marathon after a rocky transition to the full distance. He failed to finish in London in 2009 and was a distant seventh in 2010 with 2:12:03.

In fact, he is the slowest of the three Eritreans who will be racing in London and he’ll be joined by team-mates Yared Asmeron, the national record-holder, and Samuel Tsegaye, who clocked 2:07:28 on his marathon debut in October.

Also on the start list are two-time New York champion Marilson dos Santos, and Australians Scott Westcott and Martin Dent.

Olympic selection is the goal for Britain’s men too. There are two spots to fill after Scott Overall secured his place finishing fifth in Berlin. The contenders need to be first Briton home and run faster than 2:12 to qualify.

Among them are World Championships representative Lee Merrien, who was 14th in 2011 in a personal best of 2:14:27, and four athletes who have run around 2:15 – Benedict Whitby, Andi Jones, Phil Wicks and Ian Hudspith.

Also in the running are Ben Moreau, Anthony Ford, Martin Williams, Phil Nicholls and John Beattie, while James Walsh will make his debut.

“Last year was an amazing one for Kenyan marathon runners around the world and we are delighted to welcome this hugely talented half dozen to London for the 2012 men’s race,” said Virgin London Marathon race director David Bedford.

“With the Olympic men’s marathon due to be held here exactly 16 weeks later, we expect the battle for podium places to be even more ferocious than usual.

“The battle for British Olympic places will be an intriguing part of the race too,” added Bedford, a member of UKA’s marathon selection panel. “The incentive for British marathon runners couldn’t be greater.”

Elite men’s field

Patrick Makau (KEN) 2:03:38
Wilson Kipsang (KEN) 2:03:42
Emmanuel Mutai (KEN) 2:04:40
Abel Kirui (KEN) 2:05:04
Vincent Kipruto (KEN) 2:05:13
Martin Lel (KEN) 2:05:15
Tsegaye Kebede (ETH) 2:05:18
Feyisa Lelisa (ETH) 2:05:23
Bazu Worku (ETH) 2:05:25
Jaouad Gharib (MAR) 2:05:27
Marilson Gomes dos Santos (BRA) 2:06:34
Markos Geneti (ETH) 2:06:35
Yared Asmeron (ERI) 2:07:27
Samuel Tsegay (ERI) 2:07:28
Abreham Cherkos (ETH) 2:07:29
Abderrahim Bouramdane (MAR) 2:07:33
Adil Annani (MAR) 2:10:15
Scott Westcott (AUS) 2:11:36
Zersenay Tadese (ERI) 2:12:03
Martin Dent (AUS) 2:12:23
Lee Merrien (GBR) 2:14:27
Benedict Whitby (GBR) 2:15:09
Andi Jones (GBR) 2:15:20
Phil Wicks (GBR) 2:15:38
Ian Hudspith (GBR) 2:15:47
Ben Moreau (GBR) 2:16:46
Antony Ford (GBR) 2:17:16
Martin Williams (GBR) 2:17:36
Phil Nicholls (GBR) 2:19:21
John Beattie (GBR) 2:23:43
James Walsh (GBR) debut