— Berlin Marathon: World Record for Kipsang —
Volume 12, No. 57 September 30, 2013 — Berlin Marathon: World Record For Kipsang — by Sean Hartnett Berlin, Germany; September 29— The 40th BMW Berlin Marathon began with a celebration of the 7 runners who had previously achieved World Records over the city’s über- quick route. Wilson Kipsang joined this illus- trious club as the lanky Kenyan hit autobahn speed over the final 2.2 ki- lometers to drop the all-time best to a stunning 2:03:23. (Technically, Geof- frey Mutai is the “fastest” ever with his aided-course 2:03:02 from Boston ’11). “I am feeling very happy as the World Record holder in the mara- thon,” Kipsang admitted. “I’m the man now.” With this win and record, the 31-year-old Kipsang also became the first to run under 2:04 twice as he now possesses the event’s Nos. 1 & 3 clockings, bracketing Patrick Makau’s vanquished record of 2:03:38. Runner-up Eliud Kipchoge (2:04:05) also jumped high in the all- time rankings as his second marathon effort moved him to No. 4 ever, with the No. 5 performance. And he be- came the fastest non-winner ever. The record chase was on from the start, as would be expected, with for- mer recordsetter Haile Gebrselassie pulling the gun’s trigger. Dashing off into the still cool air the lead pack blasted a 2:47 opening kilometer before settling into a crisp tempo over a 61:34 opening half (see p. 563 for a complete charting of Kip- sang’s kilos).
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