FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
Tigst Assefa makes history with extraordinary World Record,
Eliud Kipchoge triumphs once more and Amanal Petros breaks German record
Tigst Assefa won the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON with a world record straight out
of the realms of fairy tale. The Ethiopian's pace did not slacken as she
ran through the Brandenburg Gate to cross the finish line in a sensational
time of 2:11:53, obliterating the world record of Kenya's Brigid Kosgei who
ran 2:14:04 in Chicago in 2019. The scale of improvement was huge, 2
minutes, 11 seconds, marking an achievement of historic proportions. The
last time the women's world record featured such an improvement was 40
years ago when the American Joan Benoit brought the time down from 2:25:29
to 2:22:43 in 1988.
Eliud Kipchoge also continued his record breaking, if only in terms of the
number of his wins in Berlin. The Kenyan achieved his fifth triumph here
with his world-class time of 2:02:42. Although the 38-year-old finished
well outside his world record of 2:01:09, this was nonetheless the eighth
fastest performance of all time. In terms of the combined winners' times,
the 49TH BMW BERLIN-MARATHON became the fastest race at the distance in
history with a total time of 4:14:35. It was the second time since 1999
that the race in Berlin now holds both marathon world records.
Amanal Petros also contributed a slice of German marathon history in
breaking his own national record with 2:04:58 for ninth place, the first
German to run under 2:05. His time would have been worth a world record 20
years ago. It was also a first for the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, never before
had the race produced a national men's record since its inception in 1974.
A year away from the Olympic Games, Amanal Petros is well on the way to
reaching the highest level of performance. He became the fourth fastest
European ever, overtaking Britain's Mo Farah.
A record total of 47,912 runners from 156 countries registered for the 49th
edition of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. The event is part of the Abbott World
Marathon Majors (AWMM) and is also a Platinum Label Road Race of World
Athletics.
Women's Race
The elite women set off at a cracking pace. By 10km, the leading group
comprised 13 runners, going through in 31:45 and on world record schedule.
Tigst Assefa appeared so relaxed that when she reached the drinks station
at 15km, she reached for a cup, drank, then handed it to one of her male
pacemakers. A short while later she tore the leading group apart with a
massive increase in pace. She and her fellow Ethiopian Workenesh Edesa
covered the kilometre from 15km in 2:59 and Assefa went through halfway in
66:20, a time good enough to win many international races at this shorter
distance.
She proceeded to cover the second half even faster, clocking 65:33. "In the
first half I held something back in reserve for the second half," explained
Tigst Assefa, whose winning time of 2:11:53 would have secured victory at a
number of men's titles in Berlin in the 1980s. In 1983, Karel Lismont of
Belgium won in 2:13:37, the following year Denmark's John Skovbjerg
triumphed in 2:13:35. "I've trained six months for this race. I think this
should ensure I am selected for the Olympic Games."
Sheila Chepkirui ran an outstanding 2:17:49 for second place while
Magdalena Shaun on her marathon debut caused a major surprise by taking
third place in 2:18:41 for Tanzania. Eight women went under 2:20:00.
Domenika Mayer produced the most notable performance by a German woman,
going through halfway 71:50 to finish in a personal best of 2:23:47, an
improvement of just over three minutes. This made her the second fastest
German woman ever though some way still behind the current record holder,
Irina Mikitenko, who won Berlin with 2:19:19 in 2008. This performance
should earn Domenika Mayer a place on the German marathon team for next
year's Olympics in Paris.
Men's Race
Eliud Kipchoge began at very fast tempo, led by three pacemakers. The
double Olympic champion had already twice broken the world record here,
firstly with 2:01:39 in 2018 and last year with 2:01:09. The signs looked
good as he went through halfway in 60:21 and right on world record
schedule. It was a surprise to see beside him the unheralded Derseh Kindie,
whose best before today was 2:08:23. The Ethiopian stayed in contention for
much of the race but came to a stop around 10km from the finish and dropped
out. At this point Eliud Kipchoge's pace had dipped and he was no longer on
world record schedule.
His pace dropped further and behind him the marathon debutant Vincent
Kipkemboi was making up the leeway. Kipchoge put in another effort and
moved clear, winning by a clear margin in 2:02:42. Kipkemboi finished a
highly creditable second in 2:03:13 and yet another debutant, Tadese Takele
of Ethiopia, was third in 2:03:24. "I missed the world record but I now
have the record for the number of wins in Berlin, that's also something
special," reflected Eliud Kipchoge.
Nine men ran under 2:05:00 to give the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON outstanding
strength in depth. In ninth place was Amanal Petros who had set himself an
ambitious pace from the start, going through halfway in 62:12. His split at
30km was 1:28:16 which would have given a finishing time of 2:04 but he
could not quite maintain that fine pace to the end. Nonetheless, he took a
big slice off his personal best from 2:06:27 to 2:04:58. The improvement of
just a second short of one and a half minutes was the biggest among German
men since the 1976 Olympic champion Waldemar Cierpinski ran 2:09:55.
"I loved the atmosphere around the course. The last two kilometres were
fantastic although I was very tired. This race was something special. I had
this kind of time in my sights but, of course, in a marathon anything can
happen," said a delighted Amanal Petros.
More information is available online at: www.berlin-marathon.com
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