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BERLIN. — As many had predicted, Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya won the 2022 Berlin Marathon yesterday in a world record time of 2:01:09.
The finish was 30 seconds faster than his previous world record of 2:01:39, set in 2018.
Kipchoge’s victory was his fourth in Berlin and 17th overall in a career of 19 marathon starts (including two on non-record-eligible demo races).
Kipchoge, age 37, led wire-to-wire and won by almost five minutes. Mark Korir of Kenya was second in 2:05:58. Tadu Abate of Ethiopia was third in 2:06:28.
Kipchoge, a two-time Olympic champion, earned his 15th win in 17 career marathons to bolster his claim as the greatest runner in history over 26.2 miles.
His pacing was not ideal. Kipchoge slowed over the second half, running 61:18 for the second half after going out in 59:51 for the first 13.1 miles. He still won by 4:49 over fellow Kenyan Korir.
Ethiopian Tigist Assefa won the women’s race in 2:15:37, the third-fastest time in history. Only Brigid Kosgei (2:14:14 in Chicago in 2019) and Paula Radcliffe (2:15:25 in London in 2003) have gone faster.
American record holder Keira D’Amato, who entered as the top seed, was sixth in 2:21:48.
With ideal 55-degree temperatures on his side, the two-time Olympic champion Kipchoge put on another masterclass in marathon running.
The race broke apart early with Kipchoge and his pacemakers going through the 5K split in 14:14, 13 seconds inside world record pace. Only Guye Adola and Andamlak Belihu of Ethiopia dared to follow the record-holder in his quest to improve on the historic time.
By 15K, Kipchoge was already over a minute faster than the world record pace he set in Berlin four years ago. Minutes later, he flew through the halfway point in 59:51, amazingly on pace for a projected finish of 1:59:41. When he broke the world record in 2018, Kipchoge covered the first 13.1 in 1:01:06.
The pace slowed slightly over the next five kilometres and at 25K, the pacemakers dropped off the course. After sticking right behind Kipchoge for the first half, Belihu started to fall behind around the 26K split, leaving Kipchoge to complete the remaining miles solo.
By 30K, Kipchoge was still on pace to shatter the world record, but a sub 2-hour marathon was looking unlikely.
After running a blazing first half, the last few sections were more of a grind for Kipchoge, who continued to slow down but maintained his edge over the previous mark. When it appeared that he was really struggling at 40K—a kilometre he covered in 3:12—Kipchoge showed a last-minute burst of energy by running 2:53 at 41K. He maintained that superhuman effort through the homestretch to crush his own world record by 30 seconds.
When asked if he could improve on the record again, Kipchoge said there’s “still more” in his legs. “I hope the future is still great,” he said on the race broadcast. —
Runnersworld.com.
Online Reporter