Tergat sets new mark in marathon

Kenya’s Paul Tergat shattered the world’s best time for a marathon by 43 seconds on Sunday, winning the Berlin race in a dramatic ...

Kenya’s Paul Tergat shattered the world’s best time for a marathon by 43 seconds on Sunday, winning the Berlin race in a dramatic finish by outsprinting a pacemaker who turned into an unexpected rival.

Tergat won the race in two hours four minutes 55 seconds, just one second ahead of his Kenyan pacemaker Sammy Korir and well below the previous world best time of 2:05:38 set by American Khalid Khannouchi in London in 2002.

“It was a great relief for me,” said Tergat, delighted to shake off his reputation as the nearly man of distance running after taking second in three previous marathons and silver medals in the 10,000 metres at the last two Olympics.

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“At last!” said Tergat, 34. “I’m very happy to have this world record. Some people said ’You cannot win a race’ but I knew my day would come. I knew nothing was going to stop me.”

Tergat, who had finished 10 seconds behind Khannouchi at the 2002 London marathon, came to Berlin intent on breaking the American’s record in the 42.195-km race.

It was the fifth time a best mark had been set on the fast, flat Berlin circuit and the fourth time in the last five years.

“It was a great run,” said Tergat, who won Euros 120,000 for the record and victory.