(December 9, 2009) – Tsegaye Kebede has only been running marathons for two and a half years, but in that short span of time he has reached a level of accomplishment that no one else has in history.

With his 2:05:18 course record victory at Fukuoka – IAAF Silver Label Road Race – last Sunday, a 2:05:20 runner-up at London in April and 2:08:35 bronze medal at the Berlin World Championships, the 22-year-old Ethiopian averaged 2:06:24 in 2009, the fastest ever for three marathons in a calendar year. In fact, he did it in less than eight months.

It used to be a singular accomplishment for an elite marathoner to run a sub-2:06 marathon. With ever increasing frequency, the best in the world are now averaging such a time for multiple marathons within the same year.

Kebede’s 2009 was so superb, that he also managed to become the second fastest ever for total time of his two fastest races, 4:10:38. More