Kiptoo triumphs in Berlin as Jerono settles for silver

Andrea Kiptoo and Likina Amebaw are the winners of an eventful 45th edition of the Generali Berlin Half Marathon on Sunday, 29 March.

Kiptoo enjoyed the biggest win of his career, so far, hitting the finish line first in 59:11 but only after fellow Kenyan Dennis Kipkemoi, running as a pacemaker, stepped aside in the final strides.

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Third place went to Amanal Petros, who broke his own German record by nine seconds with a run of 59:22 to finish just ahead of Swiss Dominic Lobalu’s 59:23.

Hopes had been high that the World silver medalist, Petros, could threaten Andreas Almgren’s European record as he was initially part of the leading group that featured Kiptoo, Lobalu, Michael Temoi and Ayensa Alemu.

Temoi took them through the 5km mark in 14:02.

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Kiptoo hit the 10km mark in 27:50, after a second 5km of 13:47 as the leading quartet became three with Temoi falling away in the final 5km, before Kiptoo also began to drop Lobalu.

The figure of Kipkemoi suddenly became far more prominent, however, as he ran stride by stride with the leader and was showing no signs of letting up.

Even as they upped the pace, the pair were clearly having a discussion in the final kilometre before the pacemaker decided, very late on, not to press his own claims.

Behind them, Petros had rallied and put in an impressive late charge to make up ground, clearly still delighted to have broken his national record as he prepares for London.

Meanwhile, the fastest woman on the start list, Ethiopian Amebaw, was also the first to cross the line in 65:07, the third-fastest time ever recorded in this race.

Amebaw, who led for the majority of the race secured a 14-second winning margin over Kenya’s Daisilah Jerono who came home in 65:21, while another Kenyan, Veronica Loleo, was third in 65:35.