Greatest men’s field ever assembled for the 2017 Berlin Marathon
The most versatile men's long-distance runner in history added to the 2017 Berlin Marathon field
For the first time in history, the three greatest men’s marathoners of recent time will race on the world’s fastest record-eligible course.
Today, Kenenisa Bekele was added to the 2017 Berlin Marathon field, which already includes Wilson Kipsang and Eliud Kipchoge. The world record of 2:02:57 was set in Berlin three years ago and will likely be threatened on Sept. 24. Dennis Kimetto holds the men’s world record and has been a relative non-factor in most races since his historic record-setting race in the German capital. (Emmanuel Mutai, who has run 2:03:13, is not in the Berlin field.) Kimetto has committed to racing the Chicago Marathon in October (where he is the course record holder).
Bekele, widely considered one of the greatest long-distance runners of all-time, won the 2016 Berlin Marathon in 2:03:03 with Kipsang finishing second in 2:03:13, his PB. Bekele holds the men’s 5,000m and 10,000m world records and is the second-fastest ever for the marathon. Bekele’s last marathon came in London, where he finished second.
None of the three featured Berlin Marathon entrants ran at the 2017 IAAF World Championships.
It can be argued that Kipsang is one of the most consistent marathoners in history. He’s run sub-2:04 four times in his career, as recently as the 2017 Tokyo Marathon.
Kipsang held the men’s marathon world record for 12 months after running 2:03:23 at the 2013 Berlin Marathon, considered the fastest record-eligible course in the world.
Meanwhile, Kipchoge is the fastest all-conditions marathoner ever, having run 2:00:25 at Nike’s non-record-eligible experiment, dubbed Breaking2, in Monza, Italy in May. He is the Olympic marathon champion . His personal best is 2:03:05, set at the 2015 London Marathon.
Kipchoge, 32, has run eight marathons (in a race setting) in his lifetime, never finishing worse than second, settling for runner-up on just one of those occasions. His victories include Rotterdam, Berlin, London and Chicago.
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