BMW Berlin Marathon – News – Kipchoge Lowers His Own World Record At BMW Berlin Marathon

KIPCHOGE LOWERS HIS OWN WORLD RECORD AT BMW BERLIN MARATHON
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2022 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved – Used with permission.

(25-Sep) – Two-time Olympic Marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge smashed his own World Athletics marathon record this morning at the BMW Berlin Marathon, clocking an otherworldly 2:01:09.  He sliced exactly half a minute off of his previous mark of 2:01:39 set at the same race in 2018.  He won today’s race over another Kenyan, Mark Korir, by nearly five minutes and earned EUR 110,000 in prize money and time bonuses.

Kipchoge, 37, made his intentions clear in the first half of the race.  Instead of the three Kenyan pacemakers –Moses Koech, Noah Kipkemboi, and Philemon Kiplimo– sticking with the planned schedule of running 60:50 through the first half (2:53 per kilometer), they ran 2:49 for the first kilometer and blasted through the halfway mark in an unprecedented 59:51.  It was clear that Kipchoge was trying for the two-hour barrier which has never been broken in a World Athletics-compliant competition.

“It is scarcely believable,” said British commentator Chris Dennis on the event’s English-language television broadcast.

Remarkably, Kipchoge wasn’t alone at that point.  Beside the three pacers he still had Ethiopian half-marathon specialist Andamlak Belihu on his heels.  Belihu, who has a half-marathon career best of 58:54 but a marathon best of only 2:09:43, looked fairly comfortable.  Defending champion Guye Adola, who was with the leader through 15-K, had already fallen back.  He would eventually drop out after 35 kilometers.

Kiplimo was the final pacemaker to stay with Kipchoge and he hit 25-K in 1:11:08 before immediately stepping off the course. Kipchoge motored ahead, and quickly dropped Belihu.  In a familiar scene from marathons past, it was just Kipchoge against the clock.  He managed to keep his pace under three minutes per kilometer, but with splits like 2:57 for the 27th kilometer and 2:59 for the 28th, the “sub-2:00” attempt was off.  He was beginning to tire.

“We went too fast,” Kipchoge admitted after the race in his broadcast interview.  He added: “Actually, it takes energy from the muscles.”

Although his pace was slipping (he slowed to a 3:08 kilometer in the 38th and 3:11 in the 40th), he rallied in the final 2.195 to lock-in his new World Athletics record.  He was handed a Kenyan flag and celebrated in the finish area much to…