Haile again! On the way to his 2:03:59 World record in Berlin (© Victah Sailer)
8 July 2009For the first time in its history, AIMS, the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, is conferring a one-of-kind honour, ‘The Marathon of the Decade, and named the real,-Berlin Marathon as its first recipient.
The real,-Berlin Marathon is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race.
AIMS is thus giving recognition to the important achievements of the Berlin Marathon with its unparalleled series of World records over the past decade. Six world records, from 1998 to 2008, document the high quality of the Berlin event – a performance never before achieved by any other Marathon event.
World records set at the Berlin Marathon:
- 20 September 1998 - Ronaldo da Costa, 2:06:05
- 26 September 1999 - Tegla Loroupe, 2:20:43
- 30 September 2001 - Naoko Takahashi, 2:19:46
- 28 September 2003 - Paul Tergat, 2:04:55
- 29 September 2007 - Haile Gebrselassie, 2:04:26
- 28 September 2008 - Haile Gebrselassie, 2:03:59
AIMS not only took the quality of the top performances into consideration, but also the incredibly high number of runners (from over 100 countries) who competed. With over 35,000 finishers last year, the Berlin race second in the world in participation.
The award will be presented at a ceremony on Tuesday, 7 July at the Berlin City Hall in the office of the governing mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit.
Francisco Borao/Valencia, Vice-President of AIMS, who will attend in lieu of the Japanese president, Hiroaki Chosa, will deliver the prize to the governing mayor together with the General Secretary of AIMS, Hugh Jones/London. The prize symbolically recognises the fact that the Berlin Marathon serves as an important international figurehead and ambassador for the city of Berlin throughout the world. Rüdiger Otto, as the managing director, and Mark Milde, who is responsible for signing the top athletes for the Berlin Marathon, will receive the prize from the mayor.
The Berlin Marathon began in 1974 under the direction of Horst Milde (Race Director until 2004) with 286 runners in the Grunewald Forest; In 1981, the race “moved” to the city with the start at the Reichstag; starting in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall – with a then record number of 25,000 runners (the limit at the time) – and the live television broadcasting in Japan, the marathon joined the ranks of the top events.
“For AIMS, the Berlin Marathon is an excellent event, which we are proud of, which has written international sport history through its success, and which provides an excellent example of how through good cooperation with the institutions in a city, sport can positively affect the lives of its citizens,” said AIMS President Hiroaki Chosa.
AIMS for the IAAF
