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Berlin Marathon: Eliud Kipchoge breaks his own record

Kenyan Mark Korir finished second behind his countryman with a time of 2:05:58, while Ethiopian Tadu Abate came third with 2:06:28.

Eliud Kipchoge

Bengaluru, September 26: Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge broke his own world record in Berlin Marathon, crossing the finish line in 2:01:09, a 30sec improvement on the mark he had set at the same course four years ago.

Kpichoge's compatriot Mark Korir finished second behind with a time of 2:05:58, while Ethiopian Tadu Abate preveneted a Kenya 1-2-3 as he finished third with 2:06:28.

At the halfway point, the back-to-back Olympic champion in Rio and Tokyo looked set to become the first to officially run under the elusive two-hour mark.

But despite slowing slightly the 37-year-old held on to best his own record from Berlin in 2018.

"Berlin is a place that can give a person the chance to push the limits," Kipchoge was quoted as saying by World Athletics Media.

"I've never believed in limits."

Good race

Good race

Kipchoge, who had earlier said his only goal was to run a good race, burst out of the blocks, clearly aiming not only for a world record but to beat the two-hour mark.

A pod of around seven runners kept up with Kipchoge for the first 10kms, before 2021 winner Guye Adola and Belihiu pulled away after 15kms.

Joins Gebrselassie

Joins Gebrselassie

Kipchoge emerged on his own after 25kms and was still on pace for the sub-two-hour mark, but began to slow slightly despite still keeping the world record in his sights.

The Kenyan became just the second man to win four Berlin Marathons, joining Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie who owned the event from 2006 to 2009.

Familiar sight

Familiar sight

At the end, the sight was a familiar one -- Kipchoge running through the Brandenburg Gates and charging towards the finish line at Berlin. But the main difference on Sunday (September 25) was the fact that he reached that landmark quicker than he had done in his four previous appearances in the German capital. Kudos champ!

The clock had just ticked over to two hours as he ran under the arches. Past experience told him that there was just a minute of running left. He knew that his world record of 2:01:39 would soon be history; the only question was by how much.

15th win

15th win

Moments later, his stride still remarkably bouncy for someone who had just covered 26.2 miles quicker than anyone ever had done in an official race. At one point it had seemed as though he had perhaps overcooked things, given his remarkable pace in the first half (59:50).

But Kipchoge, now in his 21st year of racing internationally, knows his body better than anyone. He knew that even with a drop of pace in the second half - which, unsurprisingly, happened (it was 'just' 1:01:19) - he could still break the world record. From 25kms onwards, Kipchoge was out on his own, his lead growing with every stride. Over the course of the final 16kms, he opened up a gap of almost 5min on the rest of the field as he notched up his 15th victory in official marathon races and his fourth in Berlin.

Story first published: Monday, September 26, 2022, 12:26 [IST]
Other articles published on Sep 26, 2022