Interview: Kenya's Kipsang to attempt world marathon record at Berlin race

Former world marathon record holder, Wilson Kipsang, has said he will attempt to lower the world marathon record at the Berlin Marathon scheduled for September 25, two years after he lost it in 2014.

The Kenyan runner, who set the world mark of 2.03:23 at the 2013 Berlin Marathon, lost the world record to his fellow countryman Dennis Kimetto, who lowered it to 2.02:57 at the 2014 Berlin Marathon.

"I still have the capacity to make a second attempt in the world record. This year, I saw that my body looks very well," Kipsang said during an interview with Xinhua in Iten, a town in western Kenya famous for its running community.

Kipsang, 34, said he was focused on the preparation for the impending race which his is familiar with and where almost all the past world marathon records have been lowered.

"I know what I did to lower the world record in 2013 and I think I still have the capacity this time," Kipsang said.

Like many other Kenyan athletes, Kipsang honed his running skills during his childhood when he had to run to and from primary school located som 8 km away from home in a village not far from Iten.

"Running to school for 10 years continuously, I believe, was much of training," he said.

After secondary school, Kipsang turned to professional running after he was motivated by his mentor, Paul Tergat, who held the world marathon record between 2003 and 2007.

Kipsang said he would watch the Rio Olympic marathon race and hopes the Kenyan team will sweep all the medals.

He was speaking at his hotel, Keelu Resort. "I built this facility from the proceeds of running," he said.

"After training, I find time to come to my office at the hotel to attend to friends, workers and customers," he added.

Kipsang donates to charity and also assists children, schools and the needy in society as a way of giving back to community.

Kipsang is also the president of the Professional Athletes Association of Kenya, which was instrumental in streamlining Athletics Kenya, the governing body for the sport of athletics in Kenya which for a long time was mired in a state of mismanagement.

He is a past winner of 14 international road races across the globe including the elite New York, London (twice), Berlin, and Frankfurt Marathons.

"For me running is a passion and I will continue doing so for as long as my legs will be unwilling to carry me," he said.

Kipsang said he believes the world record will one day dip below the two-hour mark, although it will take a long time.

"Only 30 seconds separate the current world record with the sub-two-hour mark. It will not be surpassed at an instant, but will be done progressively and this will take a long time," he said. Endit