Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge set a world record in the marathon Sunday, winning the Berlin race in 2 hours, 1 minute, 39 seconds, ESPN reported.
Kipchoge, 33, an Olympic champion, broke the previous world record set in 2014 by 1:18 to become the first person to finish a marathon in less than 2 hours, 2 minutes.
"I lack words to describe this day," said Kipchoge, who also won the Berlin Marathon in 2017.
Improving the world record by 78 seconds was the largest improvement to the marathon world record since 1967, when Derek Clayton shaved 2:23 off the time, The Guardian reported.
Gladys Cherono won the women's race in 2:18:11, ESPN reported. That was a women's record for Berlin and the fourth fastest time in women's marathon history, The Guardian reported. Only Paula Radcliffe, Mary Keitany and Tirunesh Dibaba have run the women's marathon in faster times. Mizuki Noguchi of Japan set the previous record 13 years ago, The Guardian reported.
