2.11.53 is the new women’s marathon world record. That’s when Tigist Assefa ran the Berlin Marathon on Sunday morning.
This is two minutes faster than the previous record. Brigid Kosgei had it on 2.14.04 until today.
– It’s brutal, said NRK track and field expert Vibjørn Rodale, his immediate judge of the race.
But the fact that Assefa would dominate this way in the marathon, not many people would have believed it a few years ago.
Participated in the Olympic Games at a distance of 800 meters (!)
Assefa began her career as a 400-metre runner, but gradually specialized in longer distances. During the 2016 Rio Olympics, she was eliminated from the race in the 800 metres. She ran her first marathon a year ago.
OUT: Assefa (right) dropped out of the 800 meters during the Rio Olympics.
Photography: Fabrice Cofrini/Agence France-Presse
– It’s an unheard-of improvement. She is participating in her third marathon. This is the little girl who ran the world-class 800 meters, and today she is the world record holder in the marathon, the commentator shouted over the final meters.
Rodale is surprised that a runner who has been on top of the world in the 400 and 800 in the past can run that fast in a marathon.
– She has something with her there, which might be a good thing to have. A bit of speed, power, etc. She has a great step. When I saw success in the half marathon, I followed some male runners. They seem to be running very fast. Then it comes with its flow and speed and looks effortless. It’s almost like running, Rodale says.
Complete control: Assefa ran faster in the last half than in the first.
Photography: Odd Andersen/AFP
– Completely raw
Assefa was in complete control of his race and shaved seconds off the world record to the finish line. She passed the halfway mark in 1.06.20 but ran faster in the second half.
– that was amazing. I’m almost speechless. Breaking the world record by more than two minutes is almost like pinching your arm. Everyone was worried about her going out too hard. It’s absolutely raw,” Weitz says.
– She’s had a good career so far, but there’s been talk of a world record all week with her. But then everything should work, you can’t request a log. He adds that it will be talked about all over the world in the future.
Marathon Expert: Jack Waitz was Grete Waitz’s coach and was an expert for NRK in the past.
Photo: Liz Aserud/NTB
So Weitz was present around the track. He says the post-race talking point was the shoes Assefa ran in.
– Weighing 138 grams, the shoe is the lightest shoe ever produced. Marathon times have declined since new shoes came on the market. There is no doubt that the era has declined dramatically. “But I never dreamed it would be 2:11,” Waitz says.
It could be a world record for men too
On the men’s side, it was Eliud Kipchoge who won the race. He completed the half marathon in a time of 60.22 seconds, much better than when he set the world record on the same course a year earlier.
But from a distance of 21 kilometers, it became difficult for the Kenyan. He crossed the finish line with a time of 2:02.44, the eighth best marathon time in history.
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