Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge staved off a surprise challenge from Ethiopian debutant Guye Adola to win an enthralling Berlin marathon on Sunday (September 24), but missed out on his bid to set a new world record. Prior to the race, Kipchoge, fellow Kenyan Wilson Kipsang and Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele had all set their sights on breaking Dennis Kimetto’s leading marathon mark of two hours, two minutes and 57 seconds along the flat, inner-city course. Thank you all pic.twitter.com/W3170Hn0SK — Eliud Kipchoge (EliudKipchoge) September 24, 2017At the front, Kipchoge became embroiled in a classic tussle with the 26-year-old Adola, making his marathon debut. Adola finished 14 seconds adrift of the winner, with his Ethiopian compatriot Mosinet Geremew finishing third in 2:06:09. Kipchoge’s victory was his second in Berlin and Gladys Cherono helped recreate the roll of honour from 2015, with the Kenyan winning the women’s race in 2:20:23 to also record a second win in the event.

Source: Ethiopian News September 24, 2017 14:15 UTC