Cyprian Kotut on his way to winning the 2016 Paris Marathon (© AFP / Getty Images)
Cybrian Kotut clocked a personal best of 2:03:22 to secure second place at the BMW Berlin Marathon, a World Athletics Platinum Label Road race, on Sunday (29).
Kotut finished just five seconds behind Ethiopia’s Milkesa Mengesha, who won the race with a personal best of 2:03:17. Fellow Ethiopian Haymanot Alew took third place, crossing the line in 2:03:31.
“I had an awesome race,” Kotut said afterward, reflecting on his strong performance.
Mengesha, who placed sixth at the World Championships marathon last year, was part of a lead group of 11 runners that followed the pacemakers through the halfway mark in 1:00:57, still on sub-2:02 pace.
Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie, the former world half marathon record-holder, was among the frontrunners after the pacemakers stepped aside shortly after the 25km mark. The lead pack was reduced to eight by 30km, clocking 1:27:21, with seven still in contention at 35km (1:42:14), including Ethiopia’s Tadese Takele, the fastest man in the field.
As the race neared the final 5km, only Mengesha, Kotut, Kenya’s Stephen Kiprop, and Alew remained in the lead. At the 40km mark (1:56:59), Mengesha and Kotut pulled ahead.
Mengesha made his move as the Brandenburg Gate came into view, surging to win in 2:03:17, the third-fastest marathon time in the world this year. Kotut followed closely with a personal best of 2:03:22, improving his previous time by over a minute.
–Ketema Dominates Women’s Race–
Tigist Ketema of Ethiopia won the women’s race in commanding fashion, crossing the line in 2:16:42. Ketema, who ran 2:16:07 on her marathon debut in Dubai earlier this year, finished more than two minutes ahead of her compatriots Mestawut Fikir (2:18:48) and Bosena Mulatie (2:19:00).
Ketema, 26, is a training partner of Tigist Assefa, who set a world record in Berlin last year. She led from early on, hitting 5km in 16:06 and 10km in 32:14. By the halfway point (1:07:53), she was 12 seconds clear of the field, with her lead only increasing as the race progressed.
By 30km (1:36:59), Ketema’s nearest challengers, Mulatie, Fikir, and Aberu Ayana, were nearly two minutes behind. Ketema reached the 40km mark in 2:09:24 and crossed the finish line unchallenged for her second marathon victory.
Fikir took second with a personal best of 2:18:48, shaving nearly two minutes off her previous record. Mulatie, in third, improved her personal best by almost eight minutes, finishing in 2:19:00.
Leading Results
Women
- Tigist Ketema (ETH) – 2:16:42
- Mestawut Fikir (ETH) – 2:18:48
- Bosena Mulatie (ETH) – 2:19:00
- Aberu Ayana (ETH) – 2:20:20
- Ai Hosoda (JPN) – 2:20:31
- Mizuki Matsuda (JPN) – 2:20:42
- Calli Hauger-Thackery (GBR) – 2:21:24
- Yebregual Melese (ETH) – 2:21:39
Men
- Milkesa Mengesha (ETH) – 2:03:17
- Cybrian Kotut (KEN) – 2:03:22
- Haymanot Alew (ETH) – 2:03:31
- Stephen Kiprop (KEN) – 2:03:37
- Hailemariyam Kiros (ETH) – 2:04:35
- Yohei Ikeda (JPN) – 2:05:12
- Tadese Takele (ETH) – 2:05:13
- Oqbe Kibrom Ruesom (ERI) – 2:05:37
material sourced from worldathletics.org
