Bekele misses world record by a whisker

Ethiopian disappointed as he ended up six second shy of the mark during Berlin marathon win

Kenenisa Bekele admitted he was disappointed to have missed the world record by six seconds yesterday as the Ethiopian won the Berlin marathon ahead of former winner Wilson Kipsang.

The ex-Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion crossed the finish line in an official time of two hours 03min 03sec — just short of Dennis Kimetto’s world record of 2:02:57 set here in 2014.

Bekele’s time was an Ethiopian national record and he took two minutes off his personal best.

“It went according to plan,” said Bekele, who finished third at this year’s London marathon. I wanted to beat my personal best. I ran a fantastic time, but I’m just a little disappointed to miss the world record by a few seconds.” Bekele pocketed 70,000 euros ($78,585) for winning the race, but those six seconds cost him the 50,000 bonus he would have landed had the world record fallen.

Kipsang, who won the 2013 Berlin Marathon in a thenworld record time, finished ten seconds back in 2:03:13 and fellow Kenyan Evans Chebet took third in 2:05:31.

“I am happy to have run a personal best and he (Bekele) ran a fantastic race,” said Kipsang, who ran ten seconds faster than the 2:03:23 then-world record he ran here three years ago. I am also a bit disappointed to have missed the world record, but I have to congratulate him.

“We will have to come back and try again for the world record next year.”

Bekele ran the second fastest time ever, just six seconds away from Kimetto’s record, and Kipsang’s time was the fourth fastest. The men’s world record has fallen seven times in Berlin, six times since 2003.