The 37-year-old double Olympic champion had set the previous record also in the German capital, where the course is particularly flat, on September 16, 2018 (2h01:39).
Considered the greatest marathon runner in history, the Kenyan started on an even higher footing, passing the halfway mark in less than an hour (59 min 51 sec) but he ultimately did not cross the bar. two hours upon arrival near the Brandenburg Gate.
He is the only one to have achieved this feat in 2019 in Vienna, during an event set up especially for him, but the performance (1h 59 min 41 sec) had not been approved because he had been helped by 41 "hares" who took turns in groups every 5 km.
Prior to the Berlin Marathon, Kipchoge had played down his chances of falling below that threshold.
"I'm not going to run under two hours in Berlin, I'm just going to have a good race," he said.
The women's race was won by Ethiopia's Tigist Assefa in the third fastest time in history (2:15:37).
© 2022 AFP