German city Berlin – Eliud Kipchoge has broken his own world record for the marathon by 30 seconds, clocking 2 hours, 1 minute, and 9 seconds in Berlin on Sunday.
At the halfway stage, the back-to-back Olympic champion in Rio and Tokyo appeared poised to become the first runner to officially break the elusive two-hour barrier.
Despite a slight slowdown, the 37-year-old was able to surpass his 2018 Berlin record.
After the race, he attributed the victory to his crew.
Kipchoge told German television: “I was really pleased with my preparedness.”
The world record is the result of genuine teamwork.
When asked if he planned to return to Berlin to attempt the two-hour mark, Kipchoge stated that he was focused on celebrating his accomplishment.
“Let’s schedule it for a later date. I must celebrate this accomplishment.”
The Kenyan Mark Korir finished second with a time of 2:05:58, while the Ethiopian Tadu Abate placed third with a time of 2:06:28.
Andamlak Belihu, an Ethiopian who kept pace with Kipchoge for over two-thirds of the run, finished fourth.
Ethiopian Tigist Assefa posted the third-fastest time in history in the women’s race, setting a new track record of 2:15:37.
Assefa was not a pre-race favorite but astonishingly improved upon her previous record by 18 minutes.
Kipchoge, who stated on Friday that his primary objective was “to run a nice race,” exploded out the starting blocks, hoping not only for a world record but also to break the two-hour barrier.
After 15 km, 2021 champion Guye Adola and Belihiu separated themselves from Kipchoge and a group of approximately seven other runners.
Adola was unable to maintain the pace and began to fall behind at 18 kilometers, while Kipchoge and Belihu completed the first half of the marathon in under an hour.
Kipchoge emerged alone after 25 kilometers and was still on pace for a sub-two-hour time, but he began to slow down significantly despite still having the world record in his sights.
Kipchoge is only the second man to win four Berlin Marathons, joining the Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie, who dominated the competition from 2006 to 2009.
He has won 15 of his last 17 marathons, including two Olympic titles and ten World Marathon Majors.
NEW WORLD RECORD
Eliud Kipchoge breaks his own world record for the marathon by winning the Berlin Marathon in 2:01:08
Removes 31 seconds from his previous record. #marathon image: http://twitter.com/UwKeWtAos
— Brendan Bradford (@1bbradfo) September 25, 2022
Four women broke the two-hour-and-twenty-minute barrier, making the women’s field one of the fastest in marathon history.
Only one of the women competing in Berlin, the American Kiera D’Amato, had previously raced faster.
In her first marathon, Kenyan Rosemary Wanjiru placed second with a timing of 2:18:00, making it the second-fastest debut time ever recorded by a woman.
Tigist Abayechew of Ethiopia placed third in 2:18:03, and Workenesh Edesa of Ethiopia also ran under the 2:20:00 mark.
D’Amato finished in sixth place with a time of 2:21:48.
AFP