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The 33-year-old Kenyan won the 2015 race and
finished eight seconds outside Dennis Kimetto's world record
time of 2:02:57 to triumph again 12 months later, but he did not
defend his title this year after focusing on the Nike Breaking2
project.
The former 5,000 meters world champion's official best marathon
time of 2:03:05 set in London in 2016 is the fourth-fastest in
history. He came close to the world record again in Berlin this
year, clocking 2:03:32 in damp conditions. [nL4N1M506X]
"I feel like I'm in good form," Kipchoge said in a statement.
"Berlin was difficult because the weather was not good but my
time showed I was in the right shape. As ever with marathon
running, everything needs to come right on the day.
"The competition is always tough in London so I must wait and
see how well I train and what the weather will be. I know that I
have the world record in me so we will have to wait and see what
happens."
Kipchoge ran the quickest recorded marathon at the Nike event in
Monza in May, finishing in 2:00:25, though that time is not an
official world record due to aspects of the event not satisfying
IAAF criteria. [nL4N1I803T]
The Kenyan joins fellow Olympic champion Mo Farah of Britain in
confirming his intention to run the London Marathon on April 22.
"I came so close to breaking the world record in 2016 and it is
natural for anyone in that situation to think of what might have
been," Kipchoge added.
"But that race gave me the confidence to go on and win the
Olympic title in Rio and run so well throughout 2017."
(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
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