The world's greatest distance runner--Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie--shattered the marathon world record on Sunday in Berlin with a time of 2:04:26. That time broke the four-year-old world mark of Geb's great rival Paul Tergat of Kenya who ran 2:04:55 on the same flat and fast Berlin course in 2003.

"It's my record now," the 34-year-old Gebrselassie said afterward, adding it was his most important record in his long career. "It's special. I've dreamed about getting this for many years."

Gebrselassie got off to a fast start in Berlin and was already 32 seconds inside Tergat's world-record pace at the 10-K mark. He maintained that margin through the half-marathon point, clocking 62.29 to Tergat's 63.01. Geb's final 5-K was--unbelievably enough--his fastest of the day: 14:30.

"When I reached 20-K and saw the time, I was thinking it could happen today," he said. "Around 35-K I knew I could break the world record. That's where I had problems last year." Gebrselassie tried to beat the record last year in Berlin and was on track until late in the race before falling 61 seconds short.

Sunday's race marked the third time the men's world record has been set on the flat Berlin Marathon courset. There have also been two women's marathon records set in Berlin.
Gebrselassie, who won Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2000 in memorable 10,000-meter duels with Tergat, received about $120,000 for the win and world-record bonus on top of  a reported $350,000 appearance fee.

In the women's race, Gete Wami of Ethiopia won in 2:23.17.