Eliud Kipchoge has done it, again!
Kipchoge shattered his own world record on Sunday (25 September), with a time of 2:01:09 to win the Berlin marathon.
It's the second time the Kenyan runner has set the official men's world record at the race in the German capital.
Kipchoge's previous best in an official 42.2km race was 2:01:39 set on the same course in 2018.
Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa won the women's race on Sunday in a course record of 2:15:37, the third fastest time in history.
READ MORE: “I am the best”: Eliud Kipchoge charged ahead of another world record attempt at the 2022 Berlin Marathon
How Kipchoge's second world record race unfolded
The Ethiopian pair of Guye Adola and Andamlak Belihu, were the only brave athletes who stayed with Kipchoge’s blistering pace until the 10km point of the men's race, which they crossed in 28:23, well within the world record target.
But Adola, the 2021 winner, soon fell off the pace set by Kipchoge’s preferred pacemaking duo of Moses Koech and Noah Kipkemboi as they approached the 14km point.
They reached the halfway mark in 59:51 well within their pre-race target of 60:50 and 96 seconds faster than he ran when he broke the world record in at the same course in 2018.
It was down to Kipchoge and Belihu at the 25km after dropping off the last pacer, at which point the 37-year-old began to gradually pull away from the Ethiopian.
With 15km to go it was down to Kipchoge and his unstoppable mind majestically pounding the streets of Berlin, breaking an occasional smile, chasing his second world record in five years.
At 35km he was over one minute within his world record pace but slowed slightly and with 2km to go he was nearly 36 seconds faster than his 2018 winning time.
As he tackled the last kilometre on his way to winning his 17th marathon of 19 starts, Kipchoge’s face lit up, delighted that he has again defied human limits.
He crossed the finish line for his fourth win in Berlin, with the official time clocked at 2 hours, 1 minute, and 9 seconds, punching his fists in the air before hugging coach Patrick Sang, as the world celebrated another remarkable feat by the greatest ever marathoner.
This was his second marathon this year after winning the Tokyo Marathon in March.
He is also the first human to run the distance in under two-hours, when he did so in specialist conditions for an unofficial event.
READ MORE: Who are the marathon GOATs?
Did the race go according to plan?
“I was planning to go 60:50, but my legs were running very fast and I thought let me just try to run 2:00 hours flat. But I am happy with the performance," Kipchoge answered a few minutes after the race.
“It was tough as the first half was really very fast,” he admitted of the second half of Sundays' run. "We went too fast and it takes energy from the muscle."
So what's next for the king of the marathon? Another fast race before his "critical" race at Paris 2024 where he is chasing an unprecedented third Olympic marathon title?
"There is still more in my legs and I hope the future is great. The mind is thinking wise, the body is still absorbing the trainings and racings."
READ MORE: Eliud Kipchoge's record breaking career in numbers.
Ethiopia's Assefa wins her second marathon ever in Berlin
It was also a fast women’s race. By midway they seemed to be chasing Brigid Kosgei’s 2:14:04 world record.
Assefa, the Rio 2016 Olympian in the 800m, won her second ever marathon after a 2:34:01 debut in Riyadh in March.
Her winning time in Berlin, a massive 18 minute improvement of her personal best, pushed her to third in the all-time list behind Kenya’s Kosgei and Britain’s Paula Radcliffe.
Rosemary Wanjiru of Kenya was second in 2:18:00 with another Ethiopian Tigst Abayechew finishing third in 02:18:03
Men's World Record Progression in the Marathon (42.2km)
2:01:09 - Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) Berlin 2022
2:01:39 - Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) Berlin 2018
2:02:57 - Dennis Kimetto (KEN) Berlin 2014
2:03:23 - Wilson Kipsang (KEN) Berlin 2013
2:03:38 - Patrick Makau (KEN) Berlin 2011
2:03:59 - Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) Berlin 2008
2:04:26 - Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) Berlin 2007
2:04:55 - Paul Tergat (KEN) Berlin 2003
