Kenyan Dennis Kimetto sets new marathon record in Berlin

30 year old Dennis Kimetto from Kenya set a new world record of 2h 02m 57s when he won the 2014 Berlin Marathon on Sunday 28th Sept 2014. Emmanuel Mutai who finished in second place in 2h 03:13s also broke the old record of 2h 03m 23s which was set by Wilson Kipsang in 2013. The temperature today was a cool 8 deg C in contrast to other warmer years so conditions were perfect.

Full race....2h 50m long. Finish ~2:12. Commentary in German...


After winning the race, Kimetto said...."I feel good because I won a very tough race. I felt good from the start and in the last few miles I felt I could do it and break the record."

These are the marathon records as they were set over the last 30 years....

2:08:05    Steve Jones     United Kingdom    Oct 21, 1984    Chicago Marathon
2:07:12    Carlos Lopes     Portugal    Apr 20, 1985    Rotterdam Marathon
2:06:50    Belayneh Dinsamo     Ethiopia    Apr 17, 1988    Rotterdam Marathon
2:06:05    Ronaldo da Costa     Brazil    Sept 20, 1998    Berlin Marathon
2:05:42    Khalid Khannouchi     Morocco    Oct 24, 1999    Chicago Marathon
2:05:38    Khalid Khannouchi     United States Apr 14, 2002    London Marathon
2:04:55    Paul Tergat     Kenya    Sept 28, 2003    Berlin Marathon
2:04:26    Haile Gebrselassie     Ethiopia    Sept 30, 2007    Berlin Marathon
2:03:59    Haile Gebrselassie     Ethiopia    Sept 28, 2008    Berlin Marathon
2:03:38    Patrick Makau     Kenya    Sept 25, 2011    Berlin Marathon
2:03:23    Wilson Kipsang     Kenya    Sept 29, 2013    Berlin Marathon
2:02:57   Dennis Kimetto     Kenya    Sept 28 2014    Berlin Marathon

The chart above shows the progression. As you can see, the record is broken by about 20-30 seconds each time and the question now is how long will this new record last?

It will also no doubt raise the question again of whether a sub 2 hour marathon is possible? In this interview, the former record holder Wilson Kipsang said he believes that a sub 2 hour marathon is possible after the record gets into the 2:01 region first...


So is it really possible? The current record of 2:02:57 is 4:41 minute mile pace. A 2 hour marathon would be an incredible 4:34 per mile pace.

By the way, the current half-marathon record is 58:23...4:27 per mile pace.

Controversial end to the 2012 Berlin Marathon...

Last Sunday, the Berlin Marathon was won by Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai in 2h 04m 15s. His compatriot and training partner Dennis Kimetto finished just one second behind in 2h 04m 16s.

The two of them broke free of the other runners around the the 32 km mark. At that stage, they were still on for setting a new world record but slowed in the last 8 kms. Their times however, once verified will be the 4th and 5th fastest Marathon times ever.

There was however some controversy in how they finished the race. With a prize of €50,000 for the winner, they seemed to make no effort to race over the last few hundred metres. They just ran through the Brandenburg Gate and over the finish line with Kimetto just two or three metres behind. There was no kick or sprint for the line, it was almost as if they had a prior arrangement.

See the video clip below from 2:07 onwards and see what you think...