Reigning world record holder Kipchoge won his fifth Berlin Marathon, in 2:02:42. Though he fell short of breaking his own world record, he does surpass Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie for the most victories in Berlin.
Kipchoge asserted his dominance from the start, blazing through the first 5K in 14:12. Just one runner—Ethiopia’s Derseh Kindie—stuck with him; by 10K, they were a full minute ahead of the chase pack.
The pair crossed the halfway mark in 1:00:22. Kindie, who previously had a personal best of 2:08:23, held on through 30K, then dropped out shortly afterward.
Fellow Kenyan Vincent Kipkemboi was 31 seconds behind in second with Ethiopian Tadese Takele third 11 second back.
Kipchoge, the 2003 5000m world champion on the track, took his record to five wins out of six marathon outings since his victorious debut over the classic distance when he won at the 2013 Hamburg Marathon.
Since then, he has notched up triumphs at world famous marathons in Rotterdam, Chicago and London before his win on Sunday in the German capital, where he also suffered his only marathon loss when finishing second in the 2013 race.
In the women’s race, last year’s surprise winner Tigist Assefa shattered the women’s marathon world record with a stunning 2:11:53 finish.
The Ethiopian shattered the previous world record set by Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei, who clocked 2:14:04 in the 2019 Chicago Marathon.
Assefa’s groundbreaking improvement of 2 minutes and 11 seconds marks a historic milestone in marathon running.
Not since 40 years ago has there been such a monumental advancement in the women’s world record when American Joan Benoit reduced the time from 2:25:29 to 2:22:43 in 1988.
A record total of 47,912 runners from 156 countries registered for the 49th edition
. The event is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors (AWMM) and is also a Platinum Label Road Race of World Athletics.
