Tigist Assefa
As the World Athletics Awards 2023 draws near, we’re shining a spotlight on the 10 finalists – five men and five women – for the World Athlete of the Year awards.
Today the focus is on Ethiopian marathon runner Tigist Assefa.
Tigist Assefa raced just once in 2023. But what a race it was.
Her performance at the BMW Berlin Marathon made people reconsider what was possible over the classic distance. She smashed the world record by two minutes and 14 seconds, winning in 2:11:53.
Just 12 months prior, she won on the streets of German capital, setting a course record of 2:15:37 in what was her first serious attempt at the marathon.
This time, lining up as defending champion, more was expected of the Ethiopian. But even with higher expectations, she still managed to send shockwaves throughout the sport.
Her first 10km – 31:44 – was swift. But even that proved to be her slowest part of the race. She covered the next three 10km sections in 31:07, 31:20 and 31:02, and her pace was still increasing as she charged through the finish line, finishing almost six minutes ahead of her nearest rival.
After covering the first half in an astonishing 1:06:20, her second half was even quicker at 1:05:33 – a time that just seven women have bettered this year in a standalone half marathon.
“In the first half, I saved some energy for the second part,” said Assefa, a former 800m specialist, who ditched track running because of persistent injuries. “I trained for six months for this race. Now I think I will be nominated for the Olympic Games.”
Assefa’s revision of the world marathon record was the biggest single improvement on the mark for 40 years. It was only as recent as 1967 when the 2:12 barrier was first broken by a man; no other men’s world record from that era has yet been achieved by a woman.
What makes Assefa’s performance all the more remarkable is that she is still relatively new to road running.
She was an 800m specialist up to and including 2016, representing Ethiopia at the 2014 African Championships (she finished fourth) and at the 2016 Olympic Games (she exited in the heats).
Soon after, her career progress began to stall due to injuries caused by frequent use of racing spikes. It forced her to rethink her options in the sport, and she decided to attempt a switch to road racing.
It proved a wise move, and she responded well to the move up in distance and the change of terrain.
She entered a low-key 10km race in Dubai at the end of 2018, clocking 34:35. In 2019, with more miles under her belt, she reduced her 10km PB to 31:45 and ran a highly promising 1:08:24 on her half marathon debut in Valencia.
She and her coach soon realised: the longer the distance, the better her results. And there are few better performances in the world of athletics than a 2:11:53 marathon.
• The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on World Athletics’ social media platforms on 11 December as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023 – and you and a friend can be part of the celebrations.
One lucky person and a companion will win a once-in-a-lifetime VIP trip to Monaco during the annual World Athletics Awards.
The winners of the fan VIP trip will get to spend three nights (9-11 December) in Monaco and meet the best athletes of 2023 in person. Flights, accommodation and evening meals will all be included.
