Gebrselassie shatters marathon world record

Haile Gebrselassie shattered the world record when winning this morning’s Real Berlin Marathon.

Gebrselassie clocked the unofficial time of two hours four minutes 26 seconds, a massive improvement on the mark of 2hrs 4mins 55secs which Kenya’s Paul Tergat achieved over the same course four years ago.

The Ethiopian star said: “I knew I could do it. Everything went well. I felt last year that I could make it in Berlin.

“This was perfect. The weather was great – a bit windy – but I still made it and it’s a dream come true.”

Abel Kirui finished second in 2:6.52, with his fellow Kenyan Salim Kipsang third in 2:7.29.

Gebrselassie’s new world record time was later confirmed as being official.