Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge Smashes Own Marathon World Record in Berlin

Kenyan legend Eliud Kipchoge has broken his own marathon world record in Berlin, but he remained tight-lipped about his future plans and tackling the mythical two-hour mark, saying “one rabbit at a time.”

The 37-year-old was on fire on an autumnal morning in the German capital, lowering his old mark by half a minute with a new best time of 2hr 01min 9sec.

He told the post-race press conference “you will see” what will come next, but hinted Berlin had not seen the last of him.

“I am African and in Africa we believe you chase one rabbit at a time,” a smiling Kipchoge said.

“So the rabbit we chased as a team was the Berlin Marathon 2022.”

At the halfway point the back-to-back Olympic champion in Rio and Tokyo looked set to become the first to officially run under the elusive two-hour mark.

But despite slowing slightly, Kipchoge held on to best his own record of 2:01:39 from Berlin in 2018.

In the women’s field, Ethiopian Tigist Assefa ran the third fastest time in history, setting a course record of 2:15:37.

Assefa was not among the pre-race favourites and sensationally beat her previous best by 18 minutes.

Kipchoge said he was the “happiest man” when he crossed the finish line and had “no regrets” about coming so close to the two-hour mark.

He thanked the “wonderful” locals for their support, saying “Berlin is the best”.

“Berlin is a place where anybody has a chance to push their limits,” added Kipchoge, who has now won the event a record-equalling four times.

“I always say I don’t believe in limits, I know what limits are, I always say no human is limited.” The Nation

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