FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON on Sunday:
Deep Berlin fields headed by Kenenisa Bekele and Gladys Cherono
Ethiopia's superstar Kenenisa Bekele and Kenya's triple BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
champion Gladys Cherono are very much in the focus at the 46th edition of
the Germany's biggest and best quality road running spectacle. Next Sunday
Kenenisa Bekele intends to bounce back once again at the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON, a race he won in thrilling fashion three years ago with a
personal best of 2:03:03.
Gladys Cherono aims to win a fourth Berlin title which would make her the
sole record winner of the event. While fellow-Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot had
to cancel her start due to an Achilles tendon problem there are still five
women on the start list with personal bests of sub 2:22. Four men feature
personal records of sub 2:05, all of them from Ethiopia. A number of
athletes will attempt to achieve the Olympic qualifying times of 2:11:30
and 2:29:30 for men and women respectively on the fast Berlin course.
Organisers recorded a record entry number of 46,983 runners from 150
nations. Along with races in Tokyo, Boston, London, Chicago and New York,
the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors. For
the first time the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON will be the final event in this
year's series.
After a series of disappointing results it remains to be seen in what sort
of form Kenenisa Bekele is on Sunday. It is likely that his strongest
rivals will be fellow-Ethiopians. Birhanu Legese took the title in Tokyo in
March with 2:04:48. In 2018 he made a spectacular debut with 2:04:15 in
Dubai where he was sixth. Two more of the Berlin entries were in action in
Dubai 2018 and ran their personal bests there: Leul Gebrselassie was the
runner-up in 2:04:02 while Sisay Lemma clocked 2:04:08 in fifth position.
While Felix Kandie, who has a PB of 2:06:03, is the fastest Kenyan on the
start list two fellow countrymen could be in for a surprise: Training
partners Abel Kipchumba and Bethwel Yegon showed very good form in the
build-up to their marathon debuts in Berlin.
After victories in 2015 and 2017 Gladys Cherono achieved her third triumph
in the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON last year with a course record of 2:18:11. The
Kenyan may well have to run another sub 2:20 to win title number four
because there is a group of runners who have the potential to achieve such
a time as well. One Ethiopians is on the start list, who has already
achieved a sub 2:20 time: Mare Dibaba, who won the world marathon title in
2015 and one year later took the bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, has a
personal record of 2:19:52. Another prominent Ethiopian athlete on the
start list is Meseret Defar. She is the double Olympic 5,000 m champion
(2004 und 2012). Meseret Defar has the potential to run much faster than
her current PB of 2:23:33.
Elite Runners (men) with Personal Bests
Name Nation Personal Best
Kenenisa Bekele ETH 2:03:03
Leul Gebrselassie ETH 2:04:02
Sisay Lemma ETH 2:04:08
Birhanu Legese ETH 2:04:15
Felix Kandie KEN 2:06:03
Jonathan Korir KEN 2:06:51
Yohanes Gebregergish ERI 2:08:14
Kenta Murayama JPN 2:09:50
Kennedy Naibei KEN 2:09:54
Shogo Kanezane JPN 2:10:19
Willy Ngelel KEN 2:10:31
Scott Overall GBR 2:10:55
Liam Adams AUS 2:11:36
Guojian Dong CHN 2:11:42
Matt Llano USA 2:12:28
Yuichi Yasui JPN 2:12:39
Keisuke Kusaka JPN 2:12:42
Philipp Pflieger GER 2:12:50
Florent Caelen BEL 2:12:51
Valentin Pfeil AUT 2:12:55
Jonathan Mellor GBR 2:12:57
Abel Kipchumba KEN Debut
Bethwel Yegon KEN Debut
Haron Lagat USA Debut
Elite Runners (women) with Personl Bests
Name Nation Personal Best
Gladys Cherono KEN 2:18:11
Mare Dibaba ETH 2:19:52
Haftamnesh Tesfay ETH 2:20:13
Helen Tola ETH 2:21:01
Ashete Bekere ETH 2:21:14
Sally Chepyego KEN 2:23:15
Meseret Defar ETH 2:23:33
Rahma Tusa ETH 2:23:46
Zhixuan Li CHN 2:26:15
Sara Hall USA 2:26:20
Anna Hahner GER 2:26:44
Andrea Deelstra NED 2:26:46
Maja Neuenschwander SUI 2:26:49
Sally Kipyego USA 2:28:01
Martina Strähl SUI 2:28:07
Krista Duchene CAN 2:28:32
Adriana Nelson USA 2:28:52
Virginia Moloney AUS 2:29:14
Nina Lauwaert BEL 2:30:24
Tracy Barlow GBR 2:30:42
Samantha Bluske USA 2:31:55
Dawa Jila CHN 2:31:55
Marisa Casanueva ESP 2:32:22
Melat Kejeta GER Debut
Statistics
46.983 Runners
5.081 Inline Skaters
69 Wheelchair athletes
160 Handbikers
10.151 mini-MARATHON of school kids
ca. 11.000 GENERALI BREAKFAST RUN
ca. 1.500 Bambini run for kids
More information is available online at: www.berlin-marathon.com
Online Media accreditation
The accreditation period for the BMW BERLIN MARATHON 2019 ended on 6th
September. Until September 25 a late accreditation can be made via an
online form. Please note that in case of a late accreditation we can not
meet all wishes regarding access to special areas.
The accreditation entitles you to enter certain areas of the event grounds
within the framework of your reporting and research at the MARATHON EXPO
and the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. Appropriately credentialed media is allowed to
attend all press conferences and use the media center's facilities during
operating hours. We provide a comfortable, full-service indoor location
including workspace, wifi and power stations. It is fully staffed by SCC
EVENTS media representatives. Race-Day services include large-format direct
feeds of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON broadcast, real-time race updates, split
and finish times printouts and the post-race press conference.
Media schedule
Press Conferences, media office and media centre are situated in the Hotel
InterContinental Budapester Str. 2, 10787 Berlin
Thursday, September 26, Press conference
10.30 a.m., Inline skating: Elite athletes
afterwards (ca. 11 a.m.) female elite runner
Friday, September 27, Press conference
10 a.m. Wheelchair athletes and handbiker
afterwards (ca. 11 a.m.) male elite runners
Friday, September 27, 6:15 p.m., Photo call, Meet the Legends
Please note: Limited capacity of photo seats / advance reservation in the
press center is required)
Presentation of the Elite runners.
In Addition: Presentation of a new Hall of Fame members.
Presentation of AWMM Sixstar Hopefuls (Joen Benoit Samuelson, first olympic
champion in women's marathon 1984, Deena Kastor (both USA), olympic bronze
medallist in marathon 2004 and Constantina Dita (ROU), Marathon olympic
champion 2008).
Selected Guinness World Records applicants with costumes will be presented
too.
Hall of Fame, Brandenburg Gate
Saturday, September 28, 9.30 a.m., GENERALI BREAKFAST RUN at the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON 2019
With wanton mood approximately 11,000 runners will start at 9:30 am from
the Schloss Charlottenburg towards the Olympiastadion.
Saturday, September 28, 3.10 p.m., mini-MARATHON of school kids
4.2195 km, Start: Potsdamer Straße, Finish: Straße des 17. Juni
Largest school kids run in Germany 10,000 runners (31th edition)
Saturday, September 28, 3.30 p.m., BMW BERLIN-MARATHON Inline Skating
Start: Straße des 17. Juni
Largest Inline Skating marathon in the world
Saturday, September 28, ca. 6.15 p.m, Press conference
Winner of the 2019 BMW BERLIN-MARATHON Inlineskating
Sunday, September 29, from 8.45 a.m. 46th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
Various starts, Overview here
Sunday, September 29, ca. 12.30 p.m., Press conference
Winner of the 2019 BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
Running
Wheelchair athletes
Handbikers
Media Guide Online
The Media Guide of the 2019 BMW BERLIN-MARATHON contains info and
statistics including potraits of elite runners.
About the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors (AWMM),
the group of six leading marathons in the world which was founded in 2006.
They comprise Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York. The
winners and leading finishers at the six AWMM races earn points according
to their positions which culminate in an overall men's and women's winner
at the end of a one-year-cycle.
The prize money for the winners amounts to US$ 250,000 each. Since 2016 the
series has also included wheelchair athletes. An age group category for
mass runners has now been added with a points system to decide men's and
women's winners. Series XII begins with the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2018 and
will end with the Berlin race in 2019. Further information about the
scoring system for elite and mass competitors can be found at:
www.worldmarathonmajors.com
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