BERLIN, Sept 28: Kenya’s Paul Tergat shattered the world’s best time for a marathon by 43 seconds on Sunday, winning the Berlin race in a dramatic finish by outsprinting a pacemaker who turned into an unexpected rival.

Tergat won the race in two hours four minutes 55 seconds, just one second ahead of his Kenyan pacemaker Sammy Korir and well below the previous world best time of 2:05:38 set by American Khalid Khannouchi in London in 2002.

Tergat, who had finished 10 seconds behind Khannouchi at the 2002 London marathon, came to Berlin intent on breaking the American’s record in the 42.195-km race.

It was the fifth time a best mark had been set on the fast, flat Berlin circuit and the fourth time in the last five years.

Another pacemaker and another Kenyan, Titus Munji, was third in 2:06:15.—Reuters