Kenenisa Bekele ran 2:03:03 in Berlin this morning, suddenly making him the second fastest marathoner ever on a record-legal course and breaking the Ethiopian record by nearly a minute. Bekele's time is six seconds off Dennis Kimetto's world record and two seconds faster than what Eliud Kipchoge ran for the win in London. We assumed that Bekele had nothing left to add to his case as the greatest male distance runner of all time, but we were wrong.

The three-time Olympic gold medalist commanded the victory over former world record-holder Wilson Kipsang on the streets of Berlin where he smashed Haile Gebrselassie's Ethiopian record of 2:03:59.

No world record, but an #Ethiopian record nonetheless. Nice to see @KenenisaBekele back, and winning. #BerlinMarathon

(/ @berlinmarathon ) pic.twitter.com/htgwhVKHWv

— Athletics Africa (@athleticsafrica) September 25, 2016

The pace was set quick from the beginning where Kipsang pushed a top group of eight going through halfway in 1:01:11. By the 30K mark, the pack split 1:26:26. All the while, Bekele remained close despite dropping back several times. By the 5K mark, Bekele was tracking Kipsang down. Suddenly with just over a kilometer left to race, Bekele threw down a surge that Kipsang couldn't respond to. The 34-year-old rode the momentum all the way into the finish line and fell just short of Kimetto's world record.

"I wanted to run by personal best here," Bekele told the IAAF. "The time was fantastic but I was disappointed I missed the world record."

After finishing second in 2:03:13 and taking 10 seconds off his personal best, Kipsang expressed that he was dissatisfied with missing the world record, but encouraged by Bekele's performance.

"It was a very nice race and my feeling was good," Kipsang said. "I was hoping we could run a world record but to run a personal best is good. We ran a good race together. Even though [Bekele] just missed it, he will run it another day."

Bekele's victory follows a series of marathon performances in the 2:05-2:06 range. His previous personal best was 2:05:04 from the 2014 Paris Marathon (previously his only victory in the marathon), and his most recent performance came in London where he finished third in 2:06:36. Sunday's 2:03:03 run in Berlin marks a significant breakthrough for Bekele in the marathon distance.

Currently list of top ten marathoners of all-time:

Rank Time    Athlete                  Country Date     Race
1.    2:02:57   Dennis Kimetto        KEN    9/28/14   Berlin
2.    2:03:03   Kenenisa Bekele      ETH    9/25/16   Berlin
3.    2:03:05   Eliud Kipchoge         KEN    4/24/16   London
4.    2:03:13   Emmanuel Mutai     KEN    9/28/14   Berlin
4.    2:03:13   Wilson Kipsang        KEN    9/25/16   Berlin
6.    2:03:38   Patrick Makau          KEN    9/25/11   Berlin
7.    2:03:51   Stanley Biwott          KEN    4/24/16   London
8.    2:03:59   Haile Gebrselassie   ETH    9/28/08   Berlin
9.    2:04:15   Geoffrey Mutai         KEN    9/9/12     Berlin
10.  2:04:23   Ayele Abshero          ETH    1/27/12   Dubai