Makau wins but misses record

BERLIN (AP) :

Kenyan Patrick Makau won the 37th Berlin Marathon yesterday, but failed to break the world record set on the course two years ago.

Makau, a favourite heading into the race, ran the race through the rain-soaked German capital in 2:5.8 seconds, finishing two seconds ahead of countryman Geoffrey Mutai.

The two Kenyans had hoped to break the world record of Ethiopian great Haile Gebrselassie, who ran the Berlin Marathon in 2:3.59 seconds in 2008.

Aberu Kebede of Ethiopia won the women's race in a time of 2:23:58, a minute ahead of her compatriot Bezunesh Bekele, with Tomo Morimoto of Japan third, in 2:26:10. Sabrina Mockenhaupt of Ger-many set a new personal best when she finished fourth in 2:26:21.

Gebrselassie was absent from Berlin this year. He is running the New York City Mara-thon in November.

Makau also fell short of the year's best time, 2:04:48 that he set at the Rotterdam Marathon in May.

More than 40,000 runners started the Berlin Marathon on puddle-strewn streets in persistent rain.