LONDON (AP) – Martin Lel withdrew from Sunday’s London Marathon after failing to recover from a hip injury, thwarting his bid to become the first man to win it four times.

The 30-year-old Kenyan said Saturday that he didn’t want to take any risks with the right hip, which he injured during his final training session last weekend.

“I am very disappointed not to be able to compete for my fourth Flora London Marathon title, but I need to be cautious,” Lel said in a statement. “The injury is not serious, but the pain means I wouldn’t be at my best tomorrow.”

Lel won the event in 2005, 2007 and 2008.

Fellow Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru, the Olympic gold medalist, becomes the favorite to win the grueling road race. He finished second at the London Marathon last year, 9 seconds behind Lel.

Organizers will deploy pacemakers in the hope that Haile Gebrselassie’s world record of 2 hours 3 minutes, 59 seconds will be broken.

Ingrid Kristiansen of Norway won the women’s race four times.

AP-ES-04-25-09 1459EDT