History was made on Sunday morning at the BMW Berlin Marathon.
In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa demolished the world record in the women’s marathon with her time of 2:11.33, which is more than two minutes better than the previous world record of 2:14:04, which was set by Brigid Kosgei of Kenya, which was set back in 2019 at the Chicago Marathon.
In the men’s race, the legend Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya went back to his winning ways, securing the victory in the men’s marathon with his time of 2:02.42. This was Kipchoge’s fifth Berlin Marathon win.
Assefa, who won the BMW Berlin Marathon last year, continued to get faster as the race progressed. She and a pack of 12 women were on world record pace in the early stages of the race, but Assefa took full control as the group started to fade and never looked back. Sheila Chepkirui of Ethiopia finished as the runner-up in the race.
The men’s race was closer than the women’s race, with Kipchoge pulling away from the pack later on in the race. Vincent Kipkemoi finished as the runner-up in the race, with his time of 2:03.24.
