Monte Carlo: Haile Gebrselassie’s marathon world record of 2::04.26 seconds was ratified by the IAAF on Monday.

Gebrselassie set the record at the Berlin Marathon on September 30, beating the time of 2::04:55 set by Paul Tergat of Kenya at the same race in 2003.

Gebrselassie, a two-time Olympic 10,000m champion, started racing marathons five years ago. (AP)