Eliud Kipchoge, a two-time Olympic champion, smashed his own men’s marathon world record on Sunday in Berlin.
The 37-year-old Kenyan broke his previous record, established four years ago in the capital city of Germany, by 30 seconds when he crossed the finish line in two hours, one minute, and nine seconds.
He had already lowered his native Dennis Kimetto’s Berlin 2014 record of 2:02.57 by one minute and 20 seconds.
In the lead-up, Kipchoge had downplayed his prospects of setting a world record.
In Berlin on a cloudy day, Kipchoge completed the first half of the 26.2-mile race in 59 minutes, 51 seconds, raising the possibility that he could become the first runner to break the two-hour barrier in an official race. Kipchoge has now won 15 of his 17 marathons.
He completed a marathon in Vienna in under two hours in 2019. However, because it wasn’t an open competition and he used a group of rotating pacemakers, that wasn’t recognized as the actual world record.
Next year, will you try to run in under two hours in Berlin? Kipchoge responded, “Let’s plan for another day.
The only competitor who could keep up with Kipchoge’s fast pace from the outset was Andamlak Belihu, but the Ethiopian fell behind after 17 kilometers.
Kipchoge has now won four times in Berlin, tying the record of the legendary Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie.
Second place went to fellow Kenyan Mark Korir, who finished four minutes and 49 seconds after Kipchoge. Ethiopian Tadu Abate finished third.
Tigist Assefa of Ethiopia set a course record in the women’s event by running the third-fastest time in history in 2:15.37.
