Dennis Kimetto, who won the Berlin Marathon in a world-record time on Sunday, was welcomed home to a Nairobi, Kenya, airport on Wednesday with a red carpet, limousine and a gourd of Mursik.
Kimetto, 30, clocked 2 hours, 2 minutes, 57 seconds in the German capital, breaking a year-old world record by 26 seconds. He ran his first marathon two years ago.
“There was a near stampede at the JKIA’s arrival lounge as the crowd burst into song and dance, rushing forward to hug him,” reported the Standard newspaper in Kenya. Here’s a video report.
Kimetto said he will prepare for the 2015 London Marathon in April and, hopefully, the 2015 World Championships in Beijing in August and the 2016 Rio Olympics, according to the Daily Nation in Kenya.
Bienvenida de Kimetto en Kenia pic.twitter.com/ebDRUoEMa5
— Emmanuel Peró (@quachibro) October 1, 2014
Here are images of Kimetto drinking Mursik (sour milk), with family and officials, via Getty Images:
Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto is fed cow’s milk, preserved traditionally in a calabash, by a relative after arriving in Nairobi on October 1, 2014, returning from Berlin where he clocked a world record of 2hr 02min 57sec to win the Berlin Marathon on September 28. Kimetto smashed the world record in the Berlin Marathon as he made history by becoming the first man to break the 2hr 03min barrier. The 30-year-old runner says he wants to set a new record next year. AFP PHOTO / TONY KARUMBA (Photo credit should read TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto (R) holds his son Alvin after arriving in Nairobi on October 1, 2014, returning from Berlin where he clocked a world record of 2hr 02min 57sec to win the Berlin Marathon on September 28. Kimetto smashed the world record in the Berlin Marathon as he made history by becoming the first man to break the 2hr 03min barrier. The 30-year-old runner says he wants to set a new record next year. AFP PHOTO / TONY KARUMBA (Photo credit should read TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto (C) arrives in Nairobi on October 1, 2014, returning from Berlin where he clocked a world record of 2hr 02min 57sec to win the Berlin Marathon on September 28. Kimetto smashed the world record in the Berlin Marathon as he made history by becoming the first man to break the 2hr 03min barrier. The 30-year-old runner says he wants to set a new record next year. AFP PHOTO / TONY KARUMBA (Photo credit should read TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
