Athletics News: Mark Carroll has signed up to run the London marathon next April as the part of his preparations for the Athens Olympics. Injury has sidelined Carroll from competitive running for the past year, although he remains one of only eight Irish athletes to have achieved the necessary qualifying standards for Athens.

The elite fields for London, which takes place on April 18th, have now been announced and joining Carroll on the start line will be new world-record holder Paul Tergat of Kenya, one of 10 men in the race who have run the 26.2-mile distance under two hours, seven minutes. Carroll has a best of 2:10.54 from the New York marathon last November.

That time also provided the Cork athlete with the A standard for Athens, and despite having to write off the entire 2003 season he remains confident of regaining his form in time for the Olympics.

"The Olympics will definitely take priority for me next year," said Carroll. "But the thing about a big city marathon is that you have to plan for it this far in advance. So, while I do definitely want to run in London, it is only a tentative plan, and a lot will depend on how well I am running in the weeks prior to the race."

A serious hip injury has forced Carroll out of hard training for much of the year, although he has been biking for over two hours a day in an effort to maintain cardiovascular fitness. "I think I have given the injury all the time it needs now to heal. And I hope to get back into the hard running by the start of next week."

Meanwhile, the death has taken place of Dougie Coard, Ireland's oldest international athlete. The Dubliner, who would have turned 101 next April, first ran the international cross-country event in Baldoyle in 1925.