Retired marathoner Patrick Makau says it will take a long time and special talent to challenge Eliud Kipchoge’s world record mark.
Kipchoge attained in blistering pace clinching the Berlin Marathon title in 2:01.39. His previous best of 2:03.05 had been attained in 2016 in winning the London marathon.
He made two attempts on the world record of compatriot Dennis Kimetto in 2015 and 2017, but missed out owing to poor weather.
However, that wait was worth as he shaved off one minute and 18 seconds off the world mark to write his name in the history book as the first man to run under two hours and two minutes.
“I watched the race for sure he made it look so easy unlike those before him who broke the record on the same course,” said Makau, who reclaimed the world mark from Haile Gebreselassie with a time of 2:03.38 back in 2013.
“Kipchoge has put it too far. Anyone targeting that mark will know it will be a hard shot. It will take years before someone does it. I am happy for him because he has been persistent since 2012,” added Makau.
Makau, 33, who has been forced to retire because of a tendon and knee injuries saw his mark broken by Wilson Kipsang in 2013 clocking an impressive 2:03.23, but again that went even further down with Kimetto arriving on the scene a year later to take the record to 2:02.57.
In all cases, the elite runners were breaking off seconds off the main mark, but for Kipchoge to slash off 78 seconds, it shows his position as the greatest ever to grace the race.
Kenya’s Paul Tergat was the last man to take such a huge step when he broke Khalid Khannouchi’s 2:05.38 record in Berlin in 2003 with a time of to 2:04:26.
It was also the largest single improvement on the marathon world record since Derek Clayton improved the mark by 2:23 in 1967.
Meanwhile, celebrations continued in Kenya for the iconic performance with calls for the Kenyan government to honor and reward their star athlete.
Makau has run in over 20 marathons, finishing at least 11 of them ever since his debut in Rotterdam in 2008.
Source: xinhuanet.com
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