FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON ON SEPTEMBER 24:
Wilson Kipsang returns: Former World Record Holder still hungry for success
The elite field for the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON on September 24 has grown in
star quality even more with the announcement that the man who broke the
world record there in 2013, Wilson Kipsang, will join his fellow Kenyan and
current world number one Eliud Kipchoge on the start line. Organisers had
announced the start of the Olympic Marathon Champion Kipchoge earlier this
month. The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is an Abbott World Marathon Majors (AWMM)
event and an IAAF Gold Label Road Race.
Kipsang's great day in Berlin came four years ago when he ran in the 40th
edition of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON and brought the world record down to
2:03:23, taking 15 seconds off the time set on the same course by his
compatriot Patrick Makau. And Makau was on the spot to offer his
congratulations since he was attending the event's jubilee's celebrations.
The world record didn't last long in Kipsang's possession. In the next
edition of the race in 2014, yet another Kenyan, Dennis Kimetto, became the
first man to break 2:03 for the marathon when he stopped the clock at
2:02:57.
In the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2016 Wilson Kipsang ran ten seconds faster than
his world record but it was only good enough for second place behind the
Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele who missed breaking Kimetto's world record by
just six seconds. Kipsang led for much of the second half of the race and
couldn't match the Ethiopian's finishing speed. But what Kipsang took away
from the experience was the belief that he was still capable of another
super-fast marathon. That is what he wants to prove in Berlin on September
24. "My motivation is very high and this preparation will be the sharpest
ever," said Kipsang, who won the Tokyo Marathon in February with the
current world leading time of 2:03:58.
Strong line-up in the women's race
There will be plenty of anticipation for the women's race as well: six
runners on the start list have already broken 2:24, a clear indication that
the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON once again has a high quality women's field. Four
of them are Ethiopians and two are from Kenya. Leading this elite field, at
least in terms of personal bests, is the Kenyan Gladys Cherono, winner of
the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2015 with her lifetime best of 2:19:25. She will
have keen competition in the shape of her rivals who include defending
champion Aberu Kebede, a triple Berlin winner (2010, 2012, 2016), and her
Ethiopian compatriots Amane Beriso, runner-up in Dubai 2016, Gulume
Tollesa, the 2015 Frankfurt winner, and Meseret Mengistu, the 2015 Paris
champion. Another contender to be reckoned with is the Prague champion this
year, Valary Aiyabei of Kenya, with a best of 2:21:57. Everyone of them has
shown they have the ability to win marathons on the big stage.
Leading Women in the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2017
Gladys Cherono KEN 2:19:25 1st Berlin 2015
Aberu Kebede ETH 2:20:30 1st Berlin 2012
Amane Beriso ETH 2:20:48 2nd Dubai 2016
Valary Aiyabei KEN 2:21:57 1st Prague 2017
Gulume Tollesa ETH 2:23:12 1st Frankfurt 2015
Meseret Mengistu ETH 2:23:26 1st Paris 2015
More information is available online at: www.berlin-marathon.com
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