Dennis Kimetto in action at the 2012 BMW Berlin Marathon (© Organisers)
Ethiopia’s Tsegaye Kebede and Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto will be on the start line of the 2014 BMW Berlin Marathon on 28 September, the race organisers of the IAAF Gold Label Road Race announced on Tuesday.
Kebede, 27, is one of the most consistently successful marathon runners ever.
He has finished 17 marathons, in which he won six and placed second three times, followed by five third-place finishes which included bronze medals in the 2008 Olympic Games and 2009 IAAF World Championships marathons.
His personal best of 2:04:38 was achieved when winning the 2012 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
Last year, Kebede won the World Marathon Majors 2012/13 title, winning US$500,000 as a first prize. He is also leading in the 2013/14 series.
Kimetto, 30, placed second in the 2012 BMW Berlin Marathon, clocking the fastest time ever for a first-time marathon runner when he crossed the line in 2:04:16, just one second behind fellow Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai.
In 2012, he also ran a 25km world record of 1:11:18, again in Berlin, bettering the previous mark by 32 seconds.
In 2013, Kimetto won the Tokyo Marathon in 2:06:50 and the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in 2:03:45, both with course records, the latter being the third-fastest time ever run on a record-eligible course.
The BMW Berlin Marathon has been the circuit where the past five men’s world records in the classic event have been set – 2003 Paul Tergat (KEN) 2:04:55; 2007 and 2008 Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) 2:04:26 and 2:03:59; 2011 Patrick Makau (KEN) 2:03:38, and 2013 Wilson Kipsang (KEN) 2:03:25.
Four more world records were set in Berlin between 1977 and 2001, two by men and two by women runners.
Organisers for the IAAF
