Eliud Kipchoge wins Berlin Marathon
Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge won the Berlin Marathon on Sunday in the rain with a time of 2h03:32, ahead of Ethiopian Guye Adola, a half marathon specialist participating in a competition of the famous 42.195 km distance for the first time.
In the women's marathon, Kenyan Gladys Cherono won with a time of 2h20:23.
The other two top favorites, Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele and Kenyan Wilson Kipsang, dropped out before reaching the 30 km mark, depriving the race of the highly anticipated showdown among the three top specialists.
"The conditions weren't easy due to the rain. Luckily, there wasn't much wind. I'm happy to have surpassed Adola. I didn't expect to have to deal with anyone other than Bekele or Kipsang," said Kipchoge.
The withdrawal of two out of three favorites and the weather conditions made it impossible for the race record to be broken as the specialists had hoped.
With wet weather and a wet asphalt, the battle among the top three was completely overshadowed.
Confident in his abilities, Kipchoge chose not to pay attention to his two rivals. His pacemakers set a pace faster than the world record, which forced Kipsang and Bekele to fight hard to stay in contention.
The leading group, with the three favorites and joined by Kenyan Vincent Kipruto and Adola, reached the halfway point in 1h01:29, about 15 seconds faster than Dennis Kimetto's time when he set the world record at the same venue in 2013 (1h01:45).
- Adola's attack -
Against all odds, Bekele, last year's winner, was the first of the five to fall behind at kilometer 24. Kipruto followed minutes later.
The second big surprise was that Kipsang stopped and dropped out at kilometer 30.
Kipchoge found himself alone with Adola, an unknown to the general public with no previous marathon time to compare against.
The Ethiopian attempted an attack at kilometer 36 and managed to open up a ten-meter gap, but Kipchoge, with a smile on his face, overcame and declared himself the winner with the Brandenburg Gate as witness to his victory.
In May, at an event organized by the sports brand Nike on the Monza circuit (Italy), Kipchoge ran the 42.195 km in 2h00:24, the best performance ever achieved by a human being.
The time was not recognized as a record because Kipchoge benefited from conditions that do not exist in competition, but the Kenyan left with the conviction that he could break the world record this year in Berlin. The rain dashed his expectations.