Olympic marathon champion Stefano Baldini will run in the New York City Marathon on November 5, joining a field that also features Kenya's Paul Tergat, the defending champion and marathon world-record holder

Baldini is the 2006 European marathon champ. The 35-year-old Italian won the gold medal at the 1996 IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships and took the marathon bronze at the world championships in 2001 and 2003.

"Baldini is our sport's golden boy," said Mary Wittenberg, president of New York Road Runners, the race organizer. "He adds a glitter to an already star-studded field."

This will be Baldini's fourth appearance in the race. He was third in 1997 and fifth in 2002. He did not finish in 1996.

Baldini is trying to become the fifth Italian to win the race. The men's winners were Orlando Pizzolato (1984, 1985), Gianni Poli (1986) and Giacomo Leone (1996). Franca Fiacconi won the women's title in 1998.