The Quest for Sub-2:02:57 Continues Sunday

By Scott Bush

Two years ago at the Berlin Marathon, Dennis Kimetto shocked the world by not only breaking the world marathon record, but becoming the first man to dip under the 2:03 barrier - as he finished his 26.2 jaunt in 2:02:57. Since then, plenty of top tier marathoners have taken a shot at the record, but only two runners have come within a minute of the mark.

On Sunday, in Berlin, Wilson Kipsang takes his next shot at the record, hoping to reclaim the title of world record holder he held for what seemed like a brief moment three years ago.

No man has run more sub-2:05 marathons than Kipsang. The 34-year old has a total of six sub-2:05 performances to his name, but it's been a year and a half since his last, which begs the question whether Kipsang can truly challenge Kimetto's mark or if it's just hyperbole.

Kipsang's Top Five Marathon Performances

Sunday's race promises to be both fast and exciting, as Kipsang matches up against Kenenisa Bekele and Emmanuel Mutai. Bekele, who owns a personal best of 2:05:04, will look to win his first World Marathon Major race, while Mutai actually has a faster PR than Kipsang, having run 2:03:13 in the same Berlin race where Kimetto set the world record 

Top 10 Marathon Performances All-Time

Fans can watch the event live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app beginning at 2:30am ET or watch on Universal later in the day Sunday at 3:30pm ET.