Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge won the Berlin Marathon on Sunday. The Kenyan runner clocked 2:03:32 in wet conditions, well short of the 2:02:57 world record set by Dennis Kimetto in 2014.
Earlier this year, Kipchoge came close to a sub-two-hour marathon during the Nike Breaking2 project, missing the mark by 24 seconds at the Monza motor racing circuit. His time, though, is not an official world record as the event did not satisfy certain IAAF criteria.
Kipchoge was up against former world record holder Wilson Kipsang and Olympic 5,000 and 10,000m champion Kenenisa Bekele, with all three seeking to break the 2-hour barrier.
Bekele, though, found the going tough as he fell off the leading pack just after the halfway mark, with the pace on par for a world record. Kipsang then dropped out of the race at 30km, leaving just Kipchoge and Ethiopian marathon debutant Guye Adola at the front.
At the 37km mark, the Ethiopian surged ahead of Kipchoge, opening a gap of 10m, as he went in search of the win.
Kipchoge regained the lead at the 40km mark and then surged ahead at the 41km mark as he then went on to claim the win.
Adola finished second in 2:03:46.
Ethiopia’s Mosinet Geremew claimed third in a time of 2:06:09.
In the women’s race, Kenya’s Gladys Cherono claimed the win in a time of 2:20:21.
Ethiopia’s Ruti Aga finished second in 2:20:41 with Kenya’s Valary Ayabei claiming third in 2:20:53.
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