By John Kwoba
NAIROBI, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Wilson Kipsang has warned his rivals it will be a race for his life as he seeks to reclaim the world record at the Berlin marathon on Sept. 24.
The former Olympic bronze medalists, 35, was overlooked in Kenya's selection for the London World Championships and has now confirmed he will join Olympic Champion Eliud Kipchoge in the Berlin Marathon next month.
"The world marathon record must fall in September this year. I will be running in the race and my focus will be on setting a new mark. This year, I only participated in few races and after I missed out on the squad to London, I focused my energy on making an impact in Berlin," he said.
Kipsang has run under 2:05:00 six times. "My training has been good and I have finalized the hard training. I'm ready to face the other competitors and my focus will be to run my personal best and even break the world record," said Kipsang.
Kipsang who won the 2013 Berlin Marathon in 2:03:23, besting countryman Patrick Makau's world record of 2:03:38, which was also set in Berlin.
Next to claim the title was Denis Kimetto of Kenya who became the first man to run a sub-2:03 marathon with an eye popping 2:02:57
Berlin has had a stranglehold on the men' s marathon world record for the past 13 years. It's been lowered six times in Berlin-and nowhere else-since Paul Tergat ran a then-record 2:04:55 there in 2003. The women's marathon world record was twice broken in Berlin (in 1999 and 2001).
Kipchoge, who missed narrow to become the first man to run under two hours in Monza Italy in May will attack the world marathon record of 2:02:57 set by compatriot Dennis Kimetto in Berlin.
"I was very close to breaking the 2 hour barrier in Monza. Now I believe Berlin is the perfect venue for attacking the official world record," said Kipchoge.
Kipchoge is currently the best marathon runner in the world. He is only the second Kenyan man to win Olympic gold after the late Sammy Wanjiru, who triumphed in Beijing in 2008.
Kipchoge has ran the second fastest marathon in history with a course record 2:03:05 at the 2016 London Marathon. Kipchoge is also the first man to win four consecutive marathon major races in a row.
In his first eight marathons, his only loss came when he was second behind Wilson Kipsang's world record at the 2013 Berlin marathon.
The Kenyan knows all about the Berlin course after he won in 2015, running 2:00;00 despite the insoles of his running shoes flapping for much of the race.
Two years previously he finished second in Berlin with another impressive time, 2:04:05 while his compatriot Wilson Kipsang broke the world record with 2:03:23. Kipchoge's personal best is 2:03:05, set when he won London in 2016.
