On a sunny but cool morning on a flat course, Gebrselassie took control from the start and his victory brought the 26th world record of his career.
Haile Gebrselassie justified his decision to miss the marathon at the Olympic Games when he broke his own world record in Berlin and took distance running into a new age. The greatest endurance athlete of all time became the first man to dip under 2hr 4min for the 26.2-mile race with a stunning performance and then predicted he will go even quicker.
“I can run 2:03:30,” said Gebrselassie, 35, moments after his time 2:03:59 beat his old record by 27 seconds. “It is possible, but now I am running against my age as well. This is just a record and tomorrow someone can break it. There are so many good runners and I suppose I will just have to run faster.”
Gebrselassie chose not to run the marathon in Beijing because of fears that smog would set off an asthma attack, instead returning to the track, where he finished sixth in the 10,000m. It meant enough energy was reserved for his return to Berlin, where he had set the record time 12 months ago.
On a sunny but cool morning on a flat course, Gebrselassie took control from the start. At halfway, he was 25 seconds faster than last year and with almost four miles left, he broke away from the Kenyan James Kwambai, his nearest challenger.
“The pacemaking from the beginning to the end was perfect and I have never seen weather like this,” said Gebrselassie. “It happens once in a lifetime.”
His victory brought the 26th world record of his career and London in 2012 remains very much in the plans of the double Olympic 10,000m champion. “You should never announce you are going to retire is my philosophy,” said Gebrselassie. “Look at Lance Armstrong, he retires for three years, and wants to make a comeback. Let retirement come by itself. That’s why I have plans to run for many years.”
Gebrselassie’s win, his third successive in Berlin, came in front of huge crowds who also saw a home victory by Irina Mikitenko in 2:19:19 in the women’s race.
Michael Phillips/© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2008
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