IAAF ratifies Patrick Makau's marathon world record

MONACO (AP) -- The governing body of world athletics has ratified the marathon world record set by Patrick Makau in Germany in September.

The Kenyan runner clocked 2 hours, 3 minutes, 38 seconds at the Berlin Marathon on Sept. 25, shaving 21 seconds off the old mark held by Ethiopian great Haile Gebrselassie.

Gebrselassie also set his mark in Berlin in 2008 but couldn't keep up with Makau in this year's race and quit before the 22-mile mark.

Makau's previous personal best was 2:04:48.

The IAAF also ratified Makau's world record over 30 kilometers, set in the same race. Makau ran the first 30K in 1:27:38, 11 seconds faster than Gebrselassie's old mark from the 2009 Berlin Marathon.

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