Berlin — Three of the world’s top marathon runners will compete against each other for the first time when Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele takes on Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge and Wilson Kipsang at the 2017 Berlin Marathon on September 24. Olympic champion Kipchoge, who has the third-fastest personal best official time of 2hr 3min 5sec, is keen to break the two-hour barrier and set a world record. The 32-year-old came close during the Nike Breaking2 project when he missed out by 24sec at Monza, though his time is not an official world record since aspects of the event did not satisfy IAAF criteria. Compatriot Kipsang set a new mark at Berlin in 2013 but his time of 2:03:23 was beaten a year later by Dennis Kimetto, who currently holds the record with a time of 2:02:57. Three-time Olympic champion Bekele, who started running marathon events in 2014, also came close to breaking the record in Berlin last year but lost out by 6sec after being hindered by muscle problems. "It’s a dream match-up. I...
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