In Berlin

Former marathon world record holders, Tegla Lorupe and Patrick Makau of Kenya, were on Thursday inducted to Berlin Marathon Hall of Fame in a ceremony held at the Hotel Intercontinental in Berlin, Germany.

The two icons of distance running from Kenya, who shattered the world record in the marathon at different times in the fast Berlin Marathon course, are some of the legends who have been invited to grace the edition 50th of the World Majors Marathon race, which will be run on Sunday.

Tegla Lorupe was the first Kenyan to break the world record in women’s marathon when she triumphed at the 1999 edition of Berlin Marathon. She set a new world record of two hours, 20 minutes and 43 seconds to win the 1999 edition of the race.

“I really wanted to bring the record to Berlin,”Tegla Loroupe said at the press conference on Thursday.

At the time, Lorupe was living with her German manager, Volker Wagner, in Detmold, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.

Between 19 April 1998 and 30 September 2001, Loroupe, now 51, held the world record for the marathon. She initially set a time of 2:20:47 in the 1998 Rotterdam Marathon. In 1999, she broke her own record, setting a time of 2:20:43 in the Berlin marathon.

In 2011, Makau ran a memorable race clocking 2:03:38 to break the world record as he registered his second successive win in Berlin.

“I had won the race the year before in the rain - after that my goal was clear: I really wanted to break the world record in Berlin, because the course and the conditions are great,” Makau told journalists on Thursday at the press conference.

National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K)  President, Paul Tergat is also expected to be inducted to Berlin Marathon Hall of Fame on Friday.

In 2003, Tergat become the first man to break the 2:05:00 barrier in the marathon when he clocked 2:04.55as he stormed to victory in Berlin Marathon.