Radcliffe to attempt fourth London win

World champion Paula Rad-cliffe will attempt a fourth victory in the London marathon on April 23 next year after finally capturing an elusive global title last August.

The 31-year-old Briton, who set the world record of two hours 15 minutes 25 seconds in the 2003 London race, won the world title in Helsinki after dropping out during last year's Athens Olympics race.

"This is great news and a bonus for London to have Paula confirmed early," said race director David Bedford.

Bedford said organisers would now have to decide whether to run the race under women's only or mixed race rules.

This year Radcliffe recovered from an unscheduled toilet break to set a women's only record of two hours 17 minutes 42 seconds for the 42.195-km race.

Radcliffe broke the women's only world record on her 2002 marathon debut in London and she has also won the Chicago and New York races.

Her only failure over 42.195kms came in Athens in 2004 when she suffered a stomach upset and failed to finish after taking anti-inflammatory drugs to combat a leg injury.