Tamirat Tola feels a carefully planned build-up will give him every chance of adding the London Marathon title to his success in New York. The 32-year-old Ethiopian – world champion from 2022 in Oregon – clocked a new course record of two hours, four minutes and 58 seconds when he won in Manhattan during November last year. Tola hopes his meticulous preparations will allow him to again hit top form as he aims to be the first over the finish line on the Mall on Sunday afternoon, having come third last year. “(Winning in) London is not easy, but I worked hard to win New York and my training has all been OK since then, so I am ready,” said Tola, who also took the 2023 Great North Run title. “Everything is good with what my coaches have prepared for me to win, so we can hope for a good result on Sunday.” The late Kelvin Kiptum, who was killed in a car accident in February at the age of 24, set a new London Marathon record with victory last year. While that mark of 2hrs 1min and 25secs is unlikely to be tested on Sunday, Tola is still confident of a swift pace.