Kipchoge Makes History yet again in Berlin
On a perfectly still Sunday morning in the German capital, it was business as usual for the greatest of all time. Coming off an uncharacteristic sixth-place finish at the Boston Marathon earlier this year, Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge ran 2:02:42 to clock the eighth-fastest marathon in history and win an unprecedented fifth Berlin Marathon title.
“I missed the world record, but I am now the record winner in Berlin,” commented Kipchoge afterwards.
“That is also something special.”
The race started quickly, with Kipchoge and his relatively unknown teammate, Derseh Kindie, reaching 5km with a 15-second margin over the rest of the field. The pair, along with the designated pacemakers, stayed on world record pace through halfway but soon fell behind schedule thereafter.
Kindie was seemingly having the race of his life, with the 2:08 runner on track to set a six-minute personal best as the duo ticked past 30km. However, a slight injection of pace from Kipchoge was all it took to see him off, and he eventually dropped out of the race alongside the final pacemaker at the 32km mark. There is some speculation that Kindie, given his personal best and the fact that he trains with Kipchoge, was simply serving as a fourth, unofficial pacemaker. Regardless, Kipchoge was now on his own. With the world record out of the question, and more than a minute separating him and second place, the final ten kilometres were simply a formality. Whispers of a late comeback from debutants Vincent Kipkemoi and Tadese Takele never really threatened Kipchoge, who crossed the line 31 seconds clear of the pair that went on to claim second and third respectively. A record nine men finished inside 2:05, and 15 inside 2:06, making it the deepest men’s marathon in history.
Eliud Kipchoge wins an unprecedented fifth Berlin Marathon title
(Photo credit: ©SCC EVENTS/Jean-Marc Wiesner)
Kipchoge now turns his attention to the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he hopes to become the first person to win three Olympic marathon titles: although, he did admit that he would be “happy to be on the podium.” Is this a suggestion that his illustrious marathon career might be finally drawing to a close, or at least be past its peak?
That certainly is a possibility. On Sunday, Kipchoge went out slower than he did in this race last year (when he set the world record) and also closed slower. From the 35km mark to the finish, he was running at 2:06 marathon pace, which allowed the chase pack to reduce the gap from 1:17 to 31 seconds. This might be nitpicking: he did run a time that only two other men have ever bested, and he may have just taken his foot off the gas with the knowledge that the race was already won. However, it is also very feasible that he simply is not as quick as he was 12 months ago. The Kenyan will be 39 at next year’s Olympics, and, unlike the last two games, will likely face a field capable of challenging for the title.
You can access the results of the 2023 Berlin Marathon here.