Haile Gebrselassie won the Berlin Marathon for the fourth straight time yesterday despite struggling in the last third of the race.
The Ethiopian star was on world record pace in the first 30km. But once his last pace maker dropped out, Gebrselassie noticeably slowed down and was gritting his teeth by the time he approached the finish line under the Brandenburg Gate in sunny and warm weather.
“It wasn’t marathon weather,” Gebrselassie said. “It was too warm in the last 10km ... At the beginning it was perfect.”
PHOTO: AFP
“I could have tried to push maybe, but really it’s wonderful. I am OK,” he said.
Gebrselassie set world records in winning on his favorite course the last two years, but this time he finished well over in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 8 seconds.
Last year, Gebrselassie became the first man to run under 2 hours, 4 minutes when he finished in 2:03:59 and slashed 27 seconds off his previous mark. He is the only man to win the Berlin Marathon four times.
Francis Kiprop of Kenya was second in 2:07:04 and Negari Therfa of Ethiopia was third in 2:07:41.
Ethiopia’s Atsede Habtamu won the women’s race in 2:24:47.
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