Kipchoge smashes own marathon world record in Berlin
Fans at the Berlin Marathon again witnessed history on Sunday as Eliud Kipchoge smashed the world record he set there in 2018.
![Athletics - Berlin Marathon - Berlin, Germany - September 25, 2022 Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge celebrates as he wins the Berlin Marathon and breaks the World Record REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY](https://img.asmedia.epimg.net/resizer/v2/MQYCZCWEX4JAN5FUNOB2MCIECU.jpg?auth=3db9a1094eacb099211f1e7646ea6412c863fc70b5bc5091411a20f095e0e5a5&width=360&height=203&focal=2510%2C1664)
Eliud Kipchoge smashed his own marathon world record as he completed the Berlin race in 2:01:09 on Sunday. The Kenyan’s previous best was also set in Berlin back in 2018 – he managed to shave 30 seconds off that time in setting the new record on Sunday. Kipchoge last raced in March when he fell short of the record by a little over a minute in Tokyo, but he emphatically got the job done as he ran through Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate and jubilantly crossed the line.
“I am happy with my preparation and I think I was so fast because of the teamwork. Everything is down to teamwork,” he said shortly after his momentous victory. What motivates is my family I and I want to inspire young people. Sport unites people and that is what motivates me.”
Two hour barrier
Kipchoge is the only man to complete a marathon in under two hours, achieving the feat in Vienna three years ago on a specialist track. It is not deemed an official record as the time was not set in official competition, but it is seemingly felt Kipchoge could potentially achieve such a time in a legitimate race given he took 30 seconds off the record, and that is where questioning soon went.
Asked if he will try a sub-two hour marathon in Berlin in 2023, Kipchoge replied: “Let us plan for another day. I will celebrate this record and have to realise what happens. Just roll and see what happens.”
In the women’s race, Tigist Assefa crossed the line first with a time of 2:15:37, which is the third-quickest women’s marathon in history.