BEIJING - Here’s a race breakdown of this morning’s World Championship men's marathon, won by Eritrean teenager Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, who at 19-years-old became the youngest champion in history. 

 

5K: The East Africans begin to slide to the front as the race hits 5k at a very pedestrian 16:06. First water station separates the field as athletes scramble to get their bottles. 

 

Mongolia’s Ser-Od Bat-Ochir suddenly rockets to the front about 18 minutes into the race, building a 30m lead on the chase pack. Bold move for a man with a PR seven minutes slower than Kimetto and Kipsang.

 

As Bat-Ochir continues to lead 21 minutes in, Da Silva of Brazil is first man to break from the chase pack to try and catch up to the Mongolian. Entire field starts to follow suit 23:30 in. 

 

The Mongolian is swallowed up by the field just shy of 25 minutes in, as the Africans start to ramp up the pace. 

 

10K: Field hits 10k in 31:51, with a second 5k of 15:46. Bahrain’s Shumi Dechasa leads after the second water station. 

 

At 34 minutes in, Italy’s Ruggero Pertile puts a surge into the race with a sudden jolt up to the front. His teammate Danielle Meucci joins him as the Africans hang back.

 

Still a lot of men in this race 40 minutes in. Heat clearly a factor however, as most athletes are dousing themselves with water at the aid stations. 

 

Pertile and Bat-Ochir, the early aggressors, continue to dictate the tempo as American Jeffrey Eggleston joins them up front. Still a huge East African presence behind them.

 

Lead going back and forth. Dechasa of Bahrain now up front as the race approaches 15k. 

 

15K: Dechasa leads the field through another slow 5k split of 15:57, hitting 15k in 47:48. Ethiopia’s Yemane Tsegay starting to look impatient and he joins Dechasa up front as the rest of the field pursues. Right now we’re on 2:14 pace.

 

Moves are starting to be made. Boston Marathon champion Lelisa Desisa heads to the lead with all three Kenyans hot on his heels. The real action is about to begin. 

 

Pace ramps up and the contenders are starting to show themselves. Lead pack has dwindled to around 12 men, most of them African, at 54 minutes into the race. Water stations met with relief by leader Desisa, who wipes himself down with a cold towel.

 

But…pace slows again and chase pack catches up to the Africans. 

 

20K: BIG MOVE. Italy’s Danielle Meucci jolts up to the front and puts five seconds on the field as he hits 20k in 1:03:23, with the fastest 5k split of the race in 15:35. 

 

But, as has become a trend in this race, Meucci is caught by the field and settles in mid-pack.

 

A lot of jostling, but the Italians, Pertile and Meucci, continue to set the tempo 70 minutes into the contest. 

 

Pertile opens up a sizable lead once again at 1:14 in. Meucci giving pursuit. 

 

Two minutes later, Meucci and Pertile link up and build a 50m lead over the extra-cautious East Africans. Still a LONG WAY to go, but Italians are showing that they aren’t afraid. 

 

25K: Now it is Meucci who is leading as the race hits 25k in 1:19:16, with a 15:53 last 5k. The Italians are straight up making this race right now!

 

Not to worry. Here come the East Africans led by Bahrain’s Dechasa. Meucci is suddenly nowhere to be found! 

 

We haven’t seen him up front all day, but defending champion Stephen Kiprotich makes his first appearance in the lead at 1:25 in. Trying to become first man to win three straight global marathons.

 

Pace slows again as Pertile once again assumes the lead with the Africans close behind. Not seeing World record holder Dennis Kimetto at all. 

 

30K: Tsepo Mathibelle of Lesotho is the new leader in this back and forth wild race. He hits 30k in 1:35:02, a 15:46 last 5k. He has a 2:16 PR, folks. 12k to go.

 

Pertile is still chasing as a lone wolf, but what in the world is happening?!! Mathibelle, an unknown, has built a tremendous lead on this super elite field. His finish in the 2012 Olympic Marathon? 85th in 2:55. His lead is growing over the Olympic champion Kiprotich who continues to chase. 

 

Mathibelle has a :25 second lead on the chase group 1:42 in. Takes a big pull of water and keeps rolling. Can he maintain this? History tells us no, but in these warm conditions, anything can happen. 

 

Now Uganda’s Munyo Mutai starting to break away from chase pack and trying to track down the mystery man from Lesotho. This is unbelievable. Mutai isn’t a favorite either, he only has a 2:10 PR! 

 

Mathibelle’s lead now down to :20 seconds as some big names start to move up. Eritrean 19-year-old Ghebreslassie and Ethiopia’s Tsegay track down Mutai, and have Mathibelle in sight.

 

35K: Uh oh! Mathibelle gets confused at the water station and comes to complete stop before he finds his bottle. Tsegay, Ghebreslassie now just :13 seconds back. Mathibelle hits 35k in 1:50:39, 15:37 last 5k. 

 

Well, it appears that the fairy tale has ended. Mathibelle is fading hard now, and is caught and passed by the Eritrean teenager Ghebreslassie. Could this be the first break for the Bird’s Nest? Only man in sight right now is Tsegay. Where are the Kenyans?

 

Ghebreslassie takes a peak over his shoulder at 1:56 in, and sees Tsegay giving close pursuit. Lelisa Desisa and defending champion Stephen Kiprotich are not out of this yet, however. 

 

The teenager is about to be caught by Tsegay, and he knows it. Gap is just :05 seconds now. 

 

We have a new leader at 1:58:40. 2:04 man Yemane Tsegay takes over and brings a sense of normalcy to this race. It’s been a wild one so far!

 

But Ghebreslassie isn’t going down without a fight. He’s trading the lead with the Ethiopian now as they hit the 2-hour mark. They’re trading punches as they head ever closer to the Bird’s Nest.

 

He’s dropping Tsegay now! This would be a tremendous upset! 2:03:15 as they approach 40k. 

 

Ghebreslassie is all alone. Unless he completely falls apart he will be the World champion.

 

40K: The teenager has a :12 second lead over Tsegay as he crosses 40k in 2:05:41 with the fastest 5k split of the race, 15:02. 

 

Ghebreslassie is looking around to see if anyone is left. Should still have Tsegay in his vision, but the victory is in hand if he can maintain form. 

 

Lead is still :12 seconds over Tsegay at 2:09:15 in. The teenager is about to hear a roar like he’s never heard before when he enters the National Stadium. 

 

He’s running alongside the Bird’s Nest now, lead has grown slightly to :13 seconds. THIS ONE IS OVER!!

 

He’s celebrating as he enters the stadium, Eritrean flag in hand. 

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GHIRMAY GEBRESLASSIE IS THE MARATHON WORLD CHAMPION IN 2:12:27! He is the youngest champion EVER!

 

Ethiopia’s Yemane Tsegay gets silver in 2:13:08, with Uganda’s Munyo Mutai nabbing bronze in 2:13:30. 

 

UPDATE: Pre-race favorites Wilson Kipsang and Dennis Kimetto of Kenya both DNF'd. They were just two of a whopping 25 men who failed to finish on Saturday morning in Beijing, as oppressive heat took its toll on the athletes in the Chinese capital. 

Notable finishes: Italy's Ruggero Pertile finished 4th in 2:14:23 after leading for a good portion of the 26.2 mile race. For the 41-year-old Pertile, the finish is the highest of his career at a global championship.

Defending Olympic and World champion Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda could not make it three straight global titles today in Beijing, as he had to settle for 6th in 2:14:43. The 26-year-old was trying to become the first man in history to win an Olympic title followed by two straight World titles. 

Two-time Boston Marathon champion Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia was a place behind Kiprotich in 2:14:54 for 7th.  

It was a disappointing day for the Americans, as Ian Burrell was the top finisher for the US in 2:23:17 for 25th place.

Scott Smith was 28th in 2:24:53, and World Championship veteran Jeffrey Eggleston failed to finish after hanging with the lead pack throught the first half of the race.