The Kenyan marathon runner ran 30 seconds faster – a massive jump for a world marathon record – than the previous record set in 2018.
Eliud Kipchoge has just broken a new marathon world record – again!
The 37-year-old Kenyan long-distance runner finished the 2022 Berlin Marathon on Sunday at 2:01:09, beating his world record.
Kipchoge ran 30 seconds faster – a giant jump for a marathon world record – than his previous best in 2018. Also set in Berlin, according to NPR and the Associated Press.
Kipchoge’s pace was so fast on Sunday that the second runner finished the marathon four minutes and 49 seconds behind him, giving Kipchoge just enough time to greet his friends, family, coach, and supporters and wave the Kenyan flag before the runner’s start came on target, according to NPR.
“My legs and body still feel young,” Kipchoge told the AP after the race. “But the most important thing is that my head feels fresh and young too. I’m thrilled I broke the world record.”
Kipchoge’s win in Berlin on Sunday was his fourth win at the Berlin marathon, according to the AP.
Ethiopian runner Tigist Assefa won the women’s race in Berlin in 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 37 seconds. Becoming the third fastest woman in the marathon. The 2022 Berlin Marathon is the fastest run between their two records. The men’s world record has now been set and reset at the Berlin marathon for the eighth year in a row, according to the AP, which praised the performance for an even race.
About 45,527 runners from 157 countries worldwide signed up to run in Berlin on Sunday. The first Berlin marathon to be held without COVID-19 restrictions since the start of the pandemic. Kipchoge and Ethiopian Andamlak Belihu completed the first half of the marathon in 59 minutes and 51 seconds before Kipchoge dropped his runner at the back of the court.
Kipchoge has run the marathon even faster – in October 2019. He became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours.
Kipchoge, then 34 years old, ran 26.2 miles in one hour, 59 minutes. And 40 seconds at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria, on a track tailor-made for the effort.