Kenyan sets world record at Berlin Marathon



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BERLIN – Eliud Kipchoge broke the Berlin marathon world record by more than a minute, with a 2:01:39 lead to make the Kenyan athlete one of the best long distance runners in history.

Kipchoge, 33, is the reigning Olympic champion in the marathon and clocked the fastest time on 26.2 miles – a blistering 2 hours 25 seconds – as part of a Nike sponsored marketing event. He was virtually unbeatable in the distance, winning 10 of the 11 marathons he participated in.

But the official world record – until Sunday 2: 02: 57 – had escaped Kipchoge for years, despite several attempts in London and here in Berlin, where he was hampered last year by adverse weather conditions.

Sunday's performance was perhaps one of the most dominant in Kipchoge. He crossed the median line in 61 minutes and 6 seconds, more than half a minute under a record pace. Kipchoge accelerated the pace in the second half with a time of 60 minutes and 33 seconds. He finished the last half of the race on his own because the last of his named leaders, the striped kit athletes who have a fixed pace just ahead of Kipchoge, dropped 25 kilometers, an unusual result for a world record. . attempt. It was not immediately clear why the pacers had given up so soon.

Kipchoge was timid about his goals for the Berlin Marathon, saying that he just wanted to establish "a personal best." Before this weekend, his personal record for the distance was 2 hours, 3 minutes and 5 seconds. The world record of Dennis Kimetto established in Berlin in 2014.

Kimetto congratulated Kipchoge in a tweet, saying, "Fantastic race, you are an example for every runner on this world."

The race reaffirms that Berlin is the fastest marathon course in the world, since the world record has been beaten seven times here since the beginning of the century.

Also Sunday, Gladys Cherono of Kenya won the women's race at the Berlin Marathon in 2:18:11.

Write to Sara Germano at [email protected]

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