Bekele misses world record by 2 seconds in comeback win

Ethiopian legendary runner Kenenisa Bekele produced a sensational comeback win in the Berlin Marathon on Sunday, missing the world record by just two seconds with 2:01:41.

The 37-year-old became the second fastest runner of all time, producing a world lead time in a phenomenal performance. Back in 2016, Bekele had missed the world record by six seconds when he clocked 2:03:03 in his first Berlin triumph. This time he missed the mark of Eliud Kipchoge, who ran 2:01:39 here in 2018, by two seconds.

Bekele's compatriot Birhanu Legese took the second place with 2:02:48, making him the third fastest marathoner ever. Sisay Lemma completed the Ethiopian triumph in Berlin with a world-class personal best of 2:03:36.

"I knew that I was in top shape. But I also know that I can run even faster," said Bekele, the three-time Olympic long distance champion and world record holder at 5,000 and 10,000m.

"Someone said my career might be over when I had injuries. It proves now that it is not over," said Bekele, "Maybe nobody believed that I can run fast like this. Me neither. I believed I could run closer to 2:01, but not enough to challenge the world record because my preparation was shorter than I expected."

With the rainy and cloudy conditions, Ashete Bekere took the women's race in 2:20:14 from fellow-Ethiopian Mare Dibaba (2:20:21) and Kenya's Sally Chepyego, who clocked 2:21:06. The defending champion Gladys Cherono of Kenya dropped out at around 30k.

"I had good training and I'm always confident that I have more possibility to win." said Bekere, "Me and Mare, we trained together and know each other so well. We're good friends and I know she has ability. I'm so proud to win today."

Two time Olympic participant Chinese veteran Dong Guojian took the seventh ranking clocking at 2:08:28, his new personal best and reaching the Tokyo 2020 marathon qualifying line. He also achieved the best result of Chinese runners in the past decade.

"Berlin is my first tour of the world six majors. I feel really good and excited today at the fastest lane here. I knew I could run well when I was training in Kenya." said Dong, "I followed the second group's leading for the first 20km. After that, I became confident that I could push myself a bit more."

A record number of 46,983 runners from 150 countries and regions entered the 46th Berlin Marathon. China has the third largest group of racers (2117) next to United States (5432) and Britain (3766), in addition to Germany (20250).