Hendrick Ramaala has cleared the first hurdle to becoming an Olympic legend.

The 40-year-old marathon runner has comfortably reached the Olympic qualifying time in the Games' iconic event, but there is a second obstacle in his way.

Though Ramaala was well inside the Olympic qualifying time of 2hrs 15min on Friday in the Dubai marathon, his time of 2:12:22 was the fourth-fastest so far by a South African, and South Africa are taking only three marathon runners to London in July.

That means Ramaala must improve his time before the end of June when the qualifying period for the London Olympics closes.

There will be much sentimental support for the veteran runner. If he can successfully negotiate all the hoops, Ramaala will become the first South African to compete at five Olympics.

So far, the three runners who have beaten the qualifying time are Steven Mokoka (2:10:29 in Shanghai on December 4), Coolboy Ngamole (2:10:43 in Valencia in November) and Lusapho April (2:11:09 in Frankfurt in October).

There are only minutes between the trio and Ramaala, but over the 42.2km distance that will not be easy to overhaul, and it will require careful planning.

The South African Olympic Committee has insisted that it will take only three marathon men to London, so the competition will be tough for local long-distance runners between now and June.