Liz Yelling today vowed to build on an impressive London Marathon by giving her best friend Paula Radcliffe a run for her money at the Beijing Games.

Yelling qualified as the fastest Briton in yesterday's race and reckons she is on target to finish in the top 10 in the Chinese capital. She finished ninth in a personal best of 2hrs 28mins 33secs in a race missing the injured Radcliffe.

Yelling, 33, a training partner of Radcliffe, dismissed wearing an anti-smog face mask in Beijing and says she can turn the hot climate to her advantage.

She said: "I finished 25th in Athens and I'm better now. The heat and humidity will be a great leveller so maybe a top 10 is possible. I can deal with it."

Yesterday's women's race was won in a time of 2hrs 24mins 14secs by Germany's Irina Mikitenko. In the men's race, Dan Robinson became the first Briton to book a place in Beijing Games, finishing 13th in a personal best with a time of 2hrs 13mins 10secs.

Kenya's Martin Lel left it until the last mile to sprint away and cross the line first in a course record 2hrs 5mins 15secs.