Kipchoge ran the Berlin Marathon in a time of 2:01:09. Tigist Assefa shocked the women’s field by running her second marathon in 2:15:38, a course record.
Two questions come to mind anytime Eliud Kipchoge toes the starting line of a marathon.
When will Kipchoge, who before Sunday morning had won 14 of the 16 official marathons he has entered, leave the rest of the field fighting for second place? And are the conditions such that he could shatter his own world record again?
On a sunny morning in Berlin, Kipchoge, a 37-year-old Kenyan, answered both questions unequivocally, winning the Berlin Marathon for a fourth time with a new world record of 2 hours 1 minute 9 seconds.
He set the previous world record — 2:01:39 — four years ago on this course.
The pace went out quickly, with Kipchoge joined by a group of five runners who hit a 10-kilometer split of 28 minutes 22 seconds, a sub-two-hour marathon pace.
By the halfway point, the group had dwindled. Only Andamlak Belihu of Ethiopia was with Kipchoge as they hit that point in 59:51, an incredible half marathon split in itself. That was the plan, Kipchoge said.
The race shifted around 25 kilometers, when the pacers left the course and Belihu dropped behind Kipchoge. The pace slowed a bit, by Kipchoge’s standards, at least, but was still well within world record range.
By the time Kipchoge ran through the finish line at the Brandenburg Gate, the results were clear: The world record would be shattered by about 30 seconds. He slapped his chest as he came across the line, and almost seemed to surprise himself as he ran into the arms of his longtime coach Patrick Sang. Kipchoge looked at his own wristwatch as if to confirm it all.
Second place was a few minutes behind, with Mark Korir of Kenya finishing in 2:05:58. Tadu Abate of Ethiopia came in third, in 2:06:28, and Belihu faded to a fourth-place finish.
Kipchoge has no equal in the distance, and now counts 15 marathon wins to his name.
In 2019 in Vienna, he became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours, though his time of 1:59:40 was not recognized as a record because he ran on a controlled course with professional pacesetters. Last year, he added Olympic gold medal to his collection after a commanding win at the Tokyo Olympics, becoming only the third man to win back-to-back gold medals in the event.
He does not intend to slow down, either. He plans to defend his Olympic title once again at the 2024 Games in Paris.
“There’s still more in my legs,” Kipchoge said after the race.
In the women’s race on Sunday, Tigist Assefa shocked the field by running away with the win in 2:15:38, shattering the course record by almost three minutes. The time makes the 28-year-old Ethiopian the third fastest female marathoner of all time.
Assefa, a former 800-meter runner who competed at the 2016 Olympics, has run only one other marathon. Her debut in the distance was in March at the Riyadh Marathon, in Saudi Arabia, where she ran 2:34:01 and finished in seventh place.
Rosemary Wanjiru of Kenya finished in second place on Sunday with a time of 2:18:00, a remarkably quick debut marathon time. Tigist Abayechew of Ethiopia finished in third with a time of 2:18:03.
Keira D’Amato, who came into the Berlin Marathon as the No. 1 seed, having set the American women’s marathon record, 2:19:12, at the Houston Marathon in January, finished in sixth place with a time of 2:21:48.
She came into the race as somewhat of a hero to the everyday runner, and as a notable favorite in a field that rarely sees an American at the top of the seeded lists.
The 37-year-old mother of two left the sport in 2009 and returned in 2017 to run a marathon for fun with her husband. She has since beaten her college 5-kilometer time by a minute, set a 10-mile American record and signed a sponsorship with Nike.
“I’m just having fun,” she said in an interview on Friday at the Brandenburg Gate. She took a photograph with Kipchoge, giving him bunny ears.
“I feel like I have nothing to lose because no matter if I win or lose, I’m going to go home and my kids are going to ask what’s for dinner.”
Both Kipchoge, a father of three, and D’Amato will be going home to proud kids.
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