Tigst Assefa wins the Berlin Marathon (© Getty Images)
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa returns to the scene of her world record in 2023 when she races at the BMW Berlin Marathon, a World Athletics Platinum Label road race, on Sunday (27).
The Olympic and world silver medallist clocked an incredible 2:11:53 in the German capital three years ago – a time that now places her third on the world all-time list – and she heads back to Berlin aiming to run even faster. The men’s race, meanwhile, looks highly competitive with Tanzania’s Gabriel Geay and Ethiopia’s Guye Adola, Shura Kitata and Getaneh Molla among the contenders.
Assefa headlines a field of record depth for Berlin – seven women have PBs under 2:20, while 14 have gone sub-2:22.
They include Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru, who defends her title, and Ethiopia’s Dera Dida, a training partner of Assefa and the runner-up in Berlin last year.
But Assefa is the heavy favourite as she competes for the first time since her TCS London Marathon win in a women-only world record of 2:15:41 in April.
“I am really looking forward to running on the fast course in Berlin again and hope that I can continue my success story here on Sunday,” she said. “I am very well prepared and want to run a personal best.”
Assefa goes on the hunt for a hat-trick in Berlin. The 29-year-old ran 2:15:37 to win in 2022 and retained the title with her world record the following year. She has claimed silver medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships and won the London Marathon twice since then.
She lines up alongside another Berlin champion as Wanjiru returns to defend the title she won in 2:21:05 in unusually warm conditions last year. Her PB of 2:16:14 was set in Tokyo in 2024, while she clocked 2:24:47 in Japan’s capital earlier this year. Her aim this time is to dip under 2:15.
That is also the goal of Dida, who is back in Berlin a year on from running 2:21:08 to finish second to Wanjiru. The 2019 world cross-country silver medallist clocked 2:23:18 in Cape Town in May, while her PB of 2:18:32 was set in Dubai last year.
Further strength comes from Ethiopia’s Zeineba Yimer, Misgane Alemayehu, Bedatu Hirpa and Bekelech Gudeta, who have all broken 2:20 this year. Yimer was third in Barcelona in March in a PB of 2:18:47, while Hirpa was second in the Osaka Women's Marathon in January. Alemayehu was runner-up in Paris in April and Gudeta was second in Seoul in March. Yimer placed fourth and Dida sixth behind Assefa in her world record performance in 2023.
Finland’s Alisa Vainio contests her seventh marathon race within a year, just six weeks on from her European Championships victory, while she also raced the Finnish Championships marathon earlier this month. The 28-year-old, who finished fifth in the World Championships marathon just over a year ago, is expected to run as part of the third women’s group on sub-2:20 pace after setting a national record of 2:20:39 in Seville in February. Esther Pfeiffer also targets a similar pace as she looks to break the long-standing German record of 2:19:19.
The men’s race looks wide open following the withdrawal of world record-holder and last year’s Berlin champion Sabastian Sawe due to injury.
Adola is among the leading contenders as he looks to regain a title he won in 2021. The 35-year-old’s PB of 2:03:46 was set in Berlin in 2017 but he went close to that mark when winning in Rotterdam in 2:03:54 in April. He finished fourth in Berlin last year.
His Ethiopian compatriot Kitata also brings a great deal of major marathon experience and like Vainio he won in Seville in February, clocking 2:03:59. Dejene Hailu was third in Seville in a PB of 2:04:15 and also races, as does Molla, the Seoul Marathon runner-up in March.
Tanzanian record-holder Geay starts as the fastest in the field thanks to the 2:03:00 he ran to finish second in Valencia in 2022. He was second in the Boston Marathon in 2023 and races his second marathon of the year after winning in Daegu in 2:08:11 in February.
The field also features Selemon Barega, the Olympic 10,000m champion in 2021 who finished seventh in the Tokyo Marathon in March in a PB of 2:05:00, as well as Kenya’s Erick Sang who ran 2:05:34 in that Rotterdam race won by Adola.
Aaron Bienenfeld, who ran 2:08:47 in Hamburg in April for the fastest marathon debut by a German athlete, looks to build on that performance as he contests his second marathon.
Leading entries
Women
Tigst Assefa (ETH) 2:11:53
Rosemary Wanjiru (KEN) 2:16:14
Bedatu Hirpa (ETH) 2:18:27
Dera Dida (ETH) 2:18:32
Zeineba Yimer (ETH) 2:18:47
Misgane Alemayehu (ETH) 2:19:08
Bekelech Gudeta (ETH) 2:19:39
Evaline Chirchir (KEN) 2:20:33
Alisa Vainio (FIN) 2:20:39
Zhang Deshun (CHN) 2:20:53
Gadise Mulu (ETH) 2:20:59
Eebbisee Addunyaa (ETH) 2:21:13
Aminet Ahmed (ETH) 2:21:24
Rika Kaseda (JPN) 2:21:55
Men
Gabriel Geay (TAN) 2:03:00
Getaneh Molla (ETH) 2:03:34
Guye Adola (ETH) 2:03:46
Shura Kitata (ETH) 2:03:59
Dejene Hailu (ETH) 2:04:15
Erick Sang (KEN) 2:04:30
Selemon Barega (ETH) 2:05:00
Taresa Tolosa (ETH) 2:05:17
Tadu Abate (ETH) 2:05:38
Asefa Boki (ETH) 2:05:40
Kenya Sonota (JPN) 2:05:59
Tsubasa Ichiyama (JPN) 2:06:00
Kiyoto Hirabayashi (JPN) 2:06:14
Yuhei Urano (JPN) 2:06:23
Hidekazu Hijikata (JPN) 2:06:26
