Five-time Great British Olympian Jo Pavey has been added to an already stellar elite women's start list for the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon.
Pavey made history last summer when she became the first British track and field athlete to compete at five Olympic Games. Now the 43-year-old will return to the London Marathon for the first time since 2011 with a double objective in mind: to run a new personal best (PB) and to qualify for the World Championships in London in August.
"I'm always looking for a new challenge," said mum-of-two Pavey. "Last year was all about making a fifth Olympic Games and after I had done that I started to think about my next challenge. I have been thinking about doing a marathon again for the past few years and for a British athlete the London Marathon - with the amazing home crowds and the iconic course - is the pinnacle. I wanted to be sure I was injury-free and could crack on with my training before committing which I am and I'm really excited about the challenge.
"I would love to qualify for the World Championships in London. I know it's a tough ask, but it is an exciting challenge to think about the possibility of representing my country over distances from the 1500m right up to the marathon. It's also an event where I think I have the possibility of running a PB and that is also a massive target of mine."
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