Kenya’s Geoffrey Kiptum came close to breaking the world record in the London Marathon earlier this year, winning in the second fastest time in history, 2:01:25. „I am very happy, I did not expect this. I was not thinking about the world record today,“ said Kiptum, who made his marathon debut last year in Valencia and has won all three of his starts on the prestigious distance so far.
Kiptum won one of the six major marathons with a lead of 3 minutes and 27 seconds ahead of his compatriot and last year’s winner Benson Kipruto. The bronze Olympic medalist Bashir Abdi from Belgium finished third with a gap of 3 minutes and 57 seconds.
Within two weeks, marathon records were broken in both categories. In Berlin, Ethiopian Tigist Assefa set a women’s record of 2:11:53. The previous record holder, Brigid Kosgei from Kenya, was also surpassed by today’s winner Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands, who finished with a time of 2:13:44, placing herself second on the all-time list and setting a new course record.
The double Olympic champion and former double world champion in the 5000m and 10,000m races, just like Kiptum, followed up on her victory at this year’s London Marathon, where she made her marathon debut. „I am very happy. The last five kilometers were incredibly painful, but I love the marathon!“ said Hassan, who won silver (5000m) and bronze (1500m) at the World Championships in Budapest just over a month ago.
Ruth Chepngetich from Kenya finished second with a time difference of 1 minute and 53 seconds, while Megertu Alemu from Ethiopia finished third with a gap of 3 minutes and 25 seconds.
