Injured Tigst Assefa crossed the finish line of the Berlin Marathon on Sunday after looking set to break the women’s world record.
The Ethiopian still won with the third best time in history in two hours 11 minutes four seconds.
But the 29-year-old, silver medalist at the Paris Olympics two years ago, was on his way to a new record before fading in the final stages.
Kenyan athlete Ruth Chepngetich’s time of 2:09:56, set during the 2024 Chicago Marathon, remains the world record, although that result is overshadowed by the three-year doping ban she received in 2025.
Assefa, winner of the 2026 London Marathon, started quickly and led the field by a minute at kilometer 15. She was ahead of the record pace at 35km and is a renowned fast finisher – but began to feel obvious discomfort and her pace slowed.
However, she still broke the Berlin course record of 2:11:53 that she set in 2023 – which was also her previous personal best.
Additionally, she improved on her time of 2:15:41 at the London Marathon earlier this year.
The top five were all Ethiopian, with Bedatu Hirpa second and Dera Dida third.
Guye Adola – another Ethiopian – won the men’s race with a time of 2:02:50.
Gn sports
