BERLIN – He did it again.
Twice Olympic Champion Eliud Kipchoge He broke his own world record in the Berlin Marathon on Sunday.
The Kenyan star clocked 2:01:39 to shave 30 seconds off his previous best mark of 2:01:39 set on the same track in 2018.
“My legs and body are still small,” said Kipchoge, 37. “But the most important thing is my brain, and that too I feel lively and young. I am very happy to break the world record.”
Ethiopia sorry She unexpectedly won the women’s race in a record time of 2:15:37 – 18 minutes faster than she had before. It was the third fastest time ever.
“I was not afraid of my opponents, although they passed faster than me,” Asifa said.
Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru finished second on her debut in 2:18:00 – the second fastest debut ever – ahead of Ethiopian Tigist Abayechew in 2:18:03.
Conditions in the German capital were perfect for fast races – cool, around 52 degrees (11 degrees Celsius) after a rainy night, with no more rain and no wind. Some 45,527 runners from 157 countries have registered to participate in the first Berlin Marathon without restrictions since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Participant numbers were almost halved under strict restrictions last year, and the 2020 race was canceled due to the pandemic.
Kipchoge ran at a furious pace on Sunday, covering the first 10km in just 28:23 and clocking 42:32 at the 15k mark, hinting at a sub-hour attempt. He broke the two-hour barrier in Vienna in 2019 when he ran 1:59:40 in a non-compliant race.
Defending champion Guye Adola and Ethiopian national Andamlak Belihu managed to keep up, at first, but Adola slid back a few meters as Kipchoge was running kilometers between 2:47 and 2:50.
Kipchoge and Belihu completed the half marathon in just 59:51. He was followed by runners from Adola and Kenyans Abel Kipchumba, Mark Korir and Bethwel Yegon with a time of 01:01:25.
“I planned to go out quickly in the first half,” Kipchoge said.
The last pacemaker dropped at the 25K mark, leaving Kipchoge alone, but Belihu stayed on his heels.
Kipchoge was somewhat slowed down to reach the 30k mark in 1:25:40. Belihu couldn’t keep up and followed up with a 21 second delay before falling back further.
At this point, it was just a matter of whether Kipchoge would break his own record. he did.
Citizen Mark Currier finished second, about five minutes late, followed by Ethiopian runner Tadu Abate. Pelehu, who had the longest stint with Kipchoge, finished fourth with a time of 2:06:40.
