German
English
Paul Tergats historical run on September 28, 2003 not only assured a place for
him in the sport history annals, but also for the real,- BERLIN MARATHON. With
now a total of five world records, the real,- BERLIN MARATHON lies at the top
of the ranking of the current city marathon races.
| real,- BERLIN-MARATHON | 5 World records | 1977, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003 |
| Flora London Marathon | 4 World records | 1983, 1985, 2002, 2003 |
| La Salle Banks Chicago Marathon | 4 World records | 1984, 1999, 2001, 2002 |
| ING New York City Marathon | 3 World records | 1978, 1979, 1980 |
| Fortis Rotterdam Marathon | 3 World records | 1985, 1988, 1998 |
| BAA Boston Marathon | 3 World records | 1947, 1975, 1983 |
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The unique atmosphere, the good asphalt, the favourable weather, the flat
and straight course, as well as the professional organisation guarantee that
year after year the top athletes make the trip to Berlin with the goal of
presenting high class running. It speaks even more for Berlin that the top
athletes often choose Berlin over other higher paying marathons in order to
achieve their best performances here.
Not to be forgotten are the world records achieved in Berlin in other
categories (teams of three, debutants, and junior world records) and the world
records in other disciplines, like the 25 km distance, and European records at
the Bewag BERLIN HALF MARATHON, which all prove that Berlin offers runners the
fastest streets in the world.
The well-deserving marathon “runners of the year“ are clearly
the new world record holders Paula Radcliffe (2:15:25 London) from England and
Paul Tergat (2:04:55 Berlin) from Kenya for their sensational achievements.
Extra recognition goes out to the runner-up in Berlin, Sammy Korir, also from
Kenya. After more than 2 hours, he was only one second behind the victorious
Tergat at the finish, while having been responsible for the fast pace over the
previous 40 kilometres. His investment in the real,- BERLIN MARATHON will pay
off for Korir in the future, too, however.
It is doubtful whether the year 2004 will also bring so many records. The
Olympic Games will dominate the planning for the season so greatly that world
records will have to take a back seat. But it will certainly be exciting.
Beginning on January 1, 2004, the IAAF will for the first time recognise
world records for street races, as long as certain criteria are met (the course
may not be shorter than the official course length, start and finish may not
lie more than 21 km apart, and the gradient between the start and finish must
be smaller than 42 metres). Paula Radcliffe and London and Paul Tergat and
Berlin will thus become the first marathons recorded with world record
times.