The 14th Rome Marathon is expected to draw 13,000 participants on Sunday - but quality is expected as well as quantity.

Of the athletes who have entered, 19 have sub 2:13 times and seven women boast bests of under 2:30.

In the past, 19 results have been under 2:10 and 16 under 2:30 are registered.

With Ruggero Pertile not competing due to health problems, home runners Ottavio Andriani, Ornella Ferrara and Vincenza Sicari have been left to think about Olympic qualification marks (2:10:30 and 2:30).

All eyes will be on Kenyan Philip Singoei, who won in Eindhoven last year (2:07:57) followed by compatriots Jonathan Kosgei (2:10:18), Benjamin Kiprotich (2:10:43) and Philip Serem (2:10:47).

Ukrainian Vitaliy Shafar and Lithuania's Mindaugas Pukstas are leading the group from non-Kenyan countries.

Russian Galina Bogomolova is the female star of the race with her 2:20:47 from Chicago 2006 when she placed second. But it should be also noted that she did not finish either of her races last year in London and at the Worlds in Osaka.

Another Russian Larisa Zyusko (2:26:26) and Aniko Kalovics (2:26:44) are also ones to watch. The Hungarian likes Italy, and she has recently won there three times (twice in Capri and once in Torino).

The course records are 2:08:02 by Italian Alberico Di Cecco, set in 2005, and 2:25:07 by last year's female winner Souad Ait Salem from Algeria.

EME / Eurosport