Eliud Kipchoge, a Kenyan athlete, shattered his own marathon world record on Sunday, winning the Berlin race with a time of 2:01.09 seconds.
The result meant he shaved half a minute off his previous world best set in the German capital four years ago.
The 37-year-old was in a league of his own; as he has now triumphed in 15 of his 17 career marathons, including two Olympic victories and 10 major crowns.
He had just established himself as the best marathon runner in history; setting a scorching pace through the flat inner-city circuit on a cloudy day.
“I am happy with my preparation and I think I was so fast because of the teamwork,” Kipchoge said. “Everything is down to teamwork.
“I planned to go out fast in the first half. It was a marvellous performance. My legs and my body still feel young.
“But the most important thing is my mind, and that also feels fresh and young. I am so happy to break the world record.”
Read more: Jonathan: Former President leads election observation mission to Kenyan elections
Only a small number of runners were able to match his early sub-three minute kilometre split times; Along with the group of pacemakers.
He shook off Guye Adola, the winner from the previous year; but fellow Ethiopian, Andamlak Belihu persevered even as they sped through the halfway point in less than an hour.
Belihu eventually fell behind as Kipchoge continued to go for the record at about the 27-kilometer point.
The Kenyan, who retained his Olympic title at the Tokyo Games last year, had fallen short of his world mark by just over a minute at the Tokyo Marathon in March. But he was not to be denied in Berlin.
Kipchoge is the only man to complete a marathon in under two hours, clocking a time of 1:59.40 in Vienna in 2019.
The time was not set in a competition, hence it is not recognized officially.
