They say that you should suffer for your art, but Liz Yelling could have done without the anxiety of dropping a painting on her foot in the preamble to the Flora London Marathon. Yesterday, she cast aside her problems and put herself in the picture for the Beijing Olympics by defeating her rival, Hayley Haining, on a grim day in the capital.

Yelling, who joins Paula Radcliffe and Mara Yamauchi for Britain’s three-pronged attack in Beijing, admitted that she was paranoid beforehand, declining invitations to dinner parties for fear of catching a cold and breaking into a sprint if anyone sneezed in her vicinity. A spot of renovating at home in Poole, Dorset, almost spelt disaster, however, leaving her with a badly bruised foot, but she scythed more than two minutes off her personal best to finish ninth in 2hr 28min 33sec.

Haining gave it her all, as befitting someone who almost had her hamstring torn off her leg when trampled by a pair of horses as a teenager and now juggles running with work as a clinical pathologist. In the latter stages, she began to reel in Yelling before being broken by the Commonwealth bronze medal-winner, but the Scot ran a personal best to take twelfth place. “I looked over my shoulder at 19 miles and saw Hayley,” Yelling said. “That was the kick up the bum I needed.”

It was a colourful day all round, with a gas leak forcing a brief change to the course and Masai warriors plodding around alongside an assortment of furry animals, but the elite men initially seemed to be the most confused. They tore off at a rollicking rate and were seven seconds inside world-record pace at 18 miles. Martin Lel, the defending champion from Kenya, was a decisive winner, his kick finish proving too much for Sammy Wanjiru, his 21-year-old compatriot, who finished nine seconds behind, with Abderrahim Goumri, of Morocco, a further six seconds adrift. Lel’s time of 2hr 5min 15sec was more than a minute inside his best time and clipped 23 seconds off Khalid Khannouchi’s course record.

Ryan Hall did not disappoint, either. The American has made a stunning entrance to the marathon. His first run was the 15 miles around Big Bear Lake at home in California and he made his marathon debut only last year in London. Yesterday, he was dropped by the early pace, but ended up fifth in 2hr 6min 17sec, the fastest time by an American-born runner.

Dan Robinson, Britain’s leading man, went past Stefano Baldini, the Olympic champion, in the latter stages. The Italian responded but Robinson ran a personal best and cemented his place in the Olympic team by finishing thirteenth in 2hr 13min 10sec.

The unluckiest man in the bunfight for Beijing is Tomas Abyu, an Ethiopian now flying the British flag. Abyu, who trains by running around Manchester United’s Old Trafford football stadium, needed to run 2hr 11min to make the grade, but finished in 2hr 15min 49sec, blighted by bronchitis.

Irina Mikitenko, of Germany, won the women’s race in 2hr 24min 14sec, which means she has finished second and first in her only marathons. She was aided by an accident in which Gete Wami, the World Marathon Majors champion from Ethiopia, fell flat on her face at the 30km drinks station. “It’s the first time I’ve ever fallen, but I was glad that I came back,” Wami said. She was third, with Svetlana Zakharova, of Russia, second.

Mikitenko was encouraged enough to look forward to Beijing with optimism. “Today I’ve found that I can do as Paula [Radcliffe] does and push the pace,” she said.

Possibly the biggest smile belonged to Yelling, though. She is on her way to Beijing, despite being shorn of lottery funding and living in the shadow of Radcliffe. “People knew who I was,” Yelling, whose British vest and blonde hair mean she is often mistaken for her long-time friend, said.

Leading Times

Men: 1, M Lel (Ken) 2hr 5min 15sec; 2, S Wanjiru (Ken) 2:05:24; 3, A Goumri (Mor) 2:05:30; 4, E Mutai (Ken) 2:06:15; 5, R Hall (US) 2:06:17; 6, D Merga (Eth) 2:06:38; 7, Y Kifle (Eritrea) 2:08:51; 8, F Limo (Ken) 2:10:34; 9, A Sokolov (Russ) 2:11:41; 10, H Ramaala (SA) 2:11:44. Leading British: 13, D Robinson 2:13:10; 16, T Abyu 2:15:49; 18, P Riley 2:18:21; 19, T Lambert 2:18:40.

Women: 1, I Mikitenko (Ger) 2:24:14; 2, S Zakharova (Russ) 2:24:39; 3, G Wami (Eth) 2:25:37; 4, S Kosgei (Ken) 2:26:30; 5, L Petrova (Russ) 2:26:45; 6, S A Salem (Alg) 2:27:41; 7, B Adere (Eth) 2:27:42; 8, C Dita (Rom) 2:27:45; 9, L Yelling (GB) 2:28:33; 10, A Pirtea (Rom) 2:28:52. Other leading British: 12, H Haining 2:29:18; 15, L Hasell 2:40:31; 17, S Partridge 2:41:40.

Wheelchair: Men: 1, D Weir (GB) 1:33:56; 2, K Fearnley (Aus) 1:34:00; 3, D Lemeunier (Fr) 1:34:01; 4, K Schabort (SA) 1:34:02; 5, H Frei (Switz) 1:34:03; 6, E van Dyk (SA) 1:34:25.

Women: 1, S Graf (Switz) 1:48:04; 2, A McGrory (US) 1:51:58; 3, S Woods (GB) 2:01:59; 4, F Porcellato (It) 2:04:48; 5, S Piercy (GB) 2:35:54.

Britain's David Weir, won his third successive Flora London Marathon in the wheelchair race and his fourth in all as he produced a blistering sprint finish to deny a posse of athletes, recording a time of 1hr 33min 56sec. There was a dramatic finale to the race as seven athletes turned into The Mall in contention, only for Weir's speed and a crash to settle proceedings. In the women's race, there was disappointment for Shelly Woods, the defending champion, who had a puncture but rallied to finish third, with Sandra Graf, of Switzerland, winning in a course record of 1hr 48min 5sec.