Dennis Kimetto Sets World Mark at Berlin Marathon

Published by the Associated Press on September 28, 2014

Dennis Kimetto knocked 26 seconds off the world marathon record Sunday as the sub-two hour mark moved a step closer.

The 30-year-old Kenyan won the 41st edition of the Berlin Marathon in 2 hours, 2 minutes, 57 seconds, becoming the first man to complete a marathon in under 2 hours, 3 minutes.

The previous record of 2:03:23 was set by another Kenyan, Wilson Kipsang, in Berlin last year.

"I feel good today for today is a big day for me," Kimetto said. "The fans made me confident and I thought I could do it."

Second-placed Emmanuel Mutai also beat the previous record, finishing in 2:03:13, and he believes a two-hour marathon is possible.

"From what I saw today, times are coming down and down. So if not today, then tomorrow," the 29-year-old Kenyan said. "Maybe next time we'll get 2:01."

Mutai had run the fastest marathon in history in 2:03:02 in Boston in 2011, though it didn't count as a world record because the course is considered too straight and downhill.

During Sunday's race Mutai set a world record in running 30K in 1:27:37, just beating Patrick Makau's previous best of 1:27.38 from 2011.