2023-09-24 10:26:00
Ethiopian Tigist Assefa smashed the women’s marathon world record late Sunday morning in Berlin, in 2h11:53, lowering the previous best mark of Kenyan Brigid Kosgei by more than two minutes (2h14:04).
At 26, Assefa thus becomes the first athlete under 2h12, and signs her second consecutive victory in Berlin, following her success last year in 2h15:37. At the time, she had set the record on the Berlin course, which is conducive to world records.
Having entered a marathon for the first time in her career in 2022, Assefa has so far completed three races over 42.195 km: her first attempt in Riyadh in March 2022 finished in 2h34:01, then she surprised in Berlin in september.
An 800 meter specialist at the start of her career (5th in her series at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, personal best at 1:59.24 in Lausanne at the beginning of July 2014), she moved to road races in 2018, first on 10 km, then half marathon then marathon.
“Last year’s race was an unexpected success for me. I think I can run even faster on Sunday. An improvement would be a success for me,” Assefa explained on Friday two days before the Berlin race. “A lot of things can happen in a race. I want to concentrate on improving my record but I’m not thinking regarding the world record,” she added.
Kipchoge victorious without record
Among the men, the Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge won his fifth marathon in Berlin on Sunday morning, in 2h02:42, a time which does not allow him to improve his world record of 2h01:09 established last year in the streets of the German capital. At 38, Eliud Kipchoge becomes the most successful marathon runner in Berlin with five victories in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022 and now 2023, one more than the Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009).
On Sunday, he ran the eighth-fastest marathon in history, just over a minute and a half off his best mark. His performance on Sunday in a completely flat marathon reassures Kipchoge, double reigning Olympic champion, a little following his disillusionment during the Boston marathon (only 6th in 2h09:23, more than three minutes behind the winner).
Kipchoge is just over ten months away from the 2024 Paris Olympics marathon, where he will attempt to win gold for the third time following Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021, something no runner has achieved to be achieved in history. The route in Paris and the Paris region is, however, much hillier than that of Berlin, and is closer to that of Boston which did not smile on Kipchoge in April.
Eliud Kipchoge
Credit: Getty Images
In addition, competition has intensified considerably with the appearance on the international scene of Kelvin Kiptum, who came within 16 seconds of Kipchoge’s world record in London in April, and who will be at the start of the Chicago marathon in two weeks on October 8.
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