The Kenyan runner Dennis Kimetto has set a new world record in the Berlin marathon with a time of two hours two minutes and 57 seconds.
The 30-year-old becomes the first man to run under two hours three minutes and his time was well inside the previous record of 2:03:23, set over the same course last year by his compatriot Wilson Kipsang.
Kimetto is from the Eldoret in Kenya's Rift Valley region - a part of the country that has produced some of the most dominant distance runners in history.
He was working as a farmer in an impoverished rural area before he took up running in his mid-20's, joining the training group of Geoffrey Mutai - a Boston, Berlin and two-time New York marathon champion and the former holder of the unofficial world best, a 2:03.02 set in Boston.
Kimetto, who won marathons in Tokyo and Boston last year, had promised to attack the record in Berlin if conditions allowed.
And in weather perfect for long-distance running, with temperatures around eight degrees centigrade, Kimetto kept his promise, staying in the lead group throughout and sprinting to victory and a new world's best time.
