Britain's Farah eyes London Marathon glory

European marathon record holder Mo Farah is the first major name to sign up to compete in next year's London Marathon, organisers announced Tuesday.

The 35-year-old Somalia-born Briton decided to quit the track after last year's world championships and focus solely on the marathon. It paid off -- he set a new European mark of 2hrs 05mins 11secs when winning the prestigious Chicago Marathon in October.

Farah, a quadruple Olympic champion having achieved the distance double of 5,000 metres and 10,000m in 2012 and 2016, said he was looking forward to pitting his wits against the traditionally strong field the race attracts.

"I'm delighted to confirm I'll be returning to race the London Marathon again next year," Farah said in a statement issued by the organisers of the April 28 race.

"I've often said how racing in London is very special to me and the London Marathon gives me the chance to run in front of my fans, on my home roads, where the atmosphere is like nothing else."