Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge has broken his own marathon world record by 30 seconds at the Berlin Marathon.
The 37-year-old crossed the line in 2:01.09 in the German capital, breaking the record which he had set in the same city four years earlier.
The achievement shaves half a minute off that previous-best time and sees Kipchoge edge ever closer to the mythical sub-two hour marathon time in official competition.
Kipchoge has broken that two-hour mark previously, doing so in Vienna in 2019, although that was not officially recognised due to it not being in open competition.
The double Olympic champion also used a team of rotating pacemakers during that Vienna race, although he threatened to break the two-hour mark at times this morning.
Kipchoge reached the halfway mark ahead of schedule in 59 minutes and 51 seconds, but slowed slightly during the second half of the race.
The victory means that the Kenyan has now won 15 of his 17 career marathons, including four in Berlin to equal Haile Gebrselassie's all-time record.
Compatriot Mark Korir finished second to Kipchoge, while Ethiopian Tadu Abate completed the top three.
In the women's race, Ethiopia's Tigist Assefa claimed the victory in a time of 2:15.37 - the third-fastest time in history.
Barney Corkhill
