…Kipchoge was on his own for the last 10km after dropping behind world record pace with fellow reigning champion Assefa becoming the first woman to break 2:12 in a marathon race
Eliud Kipchoge secured his fifth Berlin Marathon victory on Sunday (24 September) with Tigist Assefa taking more than two minutes off the women’s world record.
In his first race since finishing sixth at April’s Boston Marathon, 38-year-old double Olympic champion Kipchoge finished alone at the front in a time of 2:02:42.
Fellow Kenyan Vincent Kipkemboi was 31 seconds behind in second with Tadese Takele of Ethiopia a further 11 seconds back.
Within the first three kilometres, Kipchoge, Derseh Kindie and three pacemakers had opened a gap to the rest of the field with last year’s London Marathon winner Amos Kipruto in the second group.
By 10km, the leaders were already 16 seconds up on world record pace. That figure was as high as 23 seconds at 16km although it was down to 13 seconds as they reached halfway in 1:00:22.
At 26km, Kipchoge’s came out of his almost trance-like state to speak to the one remaining pacemaker, Hillary Chepkwony, as they dropped behind world record pace.
With just over 10km to go, Kindie fell behind the pace and soon stopped with Chepkwony following suit after bumping fists with his NN Running Team training partner.
The chasing pack did close in the latter stages and could see Kipchoge in the distance, but not enough to trouble the Kenyan hero.
“It didn’t go as expected but that’s how sport is,” Kipchoge said after the race, admitting that he thought he would break the world record.
“I’ve learned lessons. I have won but I’ve not broken the world record. Every race is a learning lesson.”
Regarding the prospects of defending his Olympic title, he said the outcome of the Berlin Marathon had little bearing on his plans and that he would “put all my experience in next year in the Olympics in Paris, and try to be the first human to win for the third time in history”.
In the women’s race, last year’s surprise winner Tigist Assefa and fellow Ethiopian Workenesh Edesa moved clear after 15km.
Edesa soon lost touch with Assefa who reached the half-marathon distance in 1:06:20, 39 seconds inside Brigid Kosgei’s split from her world record run in Chicago four years ago.
The 29-year-old, tracking her male pacemaker Azmera Gebru, continued to gain time as she moved to the brink of something very special.
Former 800m specialist Assefa looked full of running as she moved through the iconic Brandenburg Gate and crossed the line in 2:11:53, more than two minutes inside Kosgei’s previous mark of 2:14:04.
Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui was a distant second in 2:17:49 with Tanzanian marathon debutante Magdalena Shauri third in 2:18:41.
“It’s the result of hard work which I’ve put in over the last year,” Assefa said after the race. “I didn’t expect to break the record by such a margin, but I did think I could break it.”
