Kipsang eyeing world record at Berlin Marathon

Former world record-holder Wilson Kipsang has said his goal at the for the BMW Berlin Marathon on 16 September will be to break the 2:02:57 World Record.

The two-time London marathon champion has a marathon Person Best (PB) of 2:03:23 with that time, which he set at Berlin 2013, making him the fifth fastest man in history.

That record was short lived as Dennis Kimetto erased it a year later at the fast German course when he became the only man to run under 2:03:00 and now Kipsang will look to surpass him.

“I have trained well and I’m on form to set a new world record,” Kipsang told Citizen Digital in Nakuru after finishing a speed work session on Tuesday.

The 36-year-old was forced to drop out of last year’s race at the 30K mark but bounced back a month later, finish second at the New York City Marathon.

Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge is the clear favourite to win the title and has his own target in Berlin: to break his personal best.

Kipchoge set his PB of 2:03:05 when winning the 2016 London Marathon. His time is just eight seconds shy of Kimetto’s world record, but Kipchoge’s mental and physical prowess suggests the world record is within his reach.

Zersenay Tadese will also be in Berlin. The Eritrean has won five world half-marathon titles and holds the world record for the distance at 58:23.