4. Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya)

The 34-year-old Kipchoge clocked two hours one minute 39 seconds to defend his title at the Berlin Marathon and broke the previous world record by one minute, 18 seconds, the greatest improvement since 1967. It is also the first time that a human was able to finish the race in two hours and two minutes. The Kenyan was named IAAF Male World Athlete of the Year.