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Tigst Assefa didn’t just break the world record in the women’s marathon Sunday in Berlin, she obliterated it, lowering it by more than two minutes and becoming the first woman to finish a marathon in under 2 hours 12 minutes.
“I knew I wanted to go for the world record, but I never thought I would do this time,” Assefa said (via Reuters). “It was the result of hard work.”
Assefa lowered by almost four minutes the Berlin course record (2:15:37) she set last year with her previous personal best, and she started fast Sunday, with her splits even faster after the halfway mark. Her time sets a mark for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
“I have set a mark now,” she said. “The decision does not lie with me but with officials. It is up to the National Committee to select me for the team.”
On the men’s side, Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge won for the fifth time in Berlin, finishing in 2:02:42. Vincent Kipkemboi, also of Kenya, was 31 seconds behind in second place, with Tadese Takele of Ethiopia another 11 seconds back in third.
Kipchoge, 38, will attempt in Paris to win his third Olympic gold medal, but on Sunday he could not lower the 2:01:09 world record he set last year in Berlin. Instead, his time Sunday was the eighth fastest ever in the men’s marathon.
“It didn’t go as expected, but that’s how sport is,” Kipchoge said, expressing disappointment at not further lowering his world record (via NBC). “I’ve learned lessons. I have won, but I’ve not broken the world record. Every race is a learning lesson.”