With her face contorted in pain, Tigst Assefa limped across the finish line at the Berlin Marathon before falling to her knees, completely exhausted. With tears in her eyes, the Ethiopian then sought support from running legend and coach Haile Gebrselassie. After a drama in the last few meters, Assefa missed the almost certain world record over the magical distance of 42.195 kilometers in the capital.
First-placed Assefa was absent from the award ceremony and the subsequent press conference due to a tendon injury. According to the organizers, she was instead taken to a hospital for an examination.
Still the third fastest time in history
Assefa, who was on track for a global record for a long time, ran despite the injury problems on the last part of the route to a course record of 2:11:04 hours - making it the third fastest time in women's marathon history.
Only Assefa's compatriot Fotyen Tesfay, who ran 2:10:51 hours in Barcelona six months ago, and world record holder Ruth Chepngetich from Kenya have been faster. Chepngetich, who finished in 2:09:56 hours in Chicago in 2024, is currently suspended due to a positive doping test.
“It's bitter, but it's just a marathon. Marathon has its own rules. It's really only at the finish that the decision is made. I think it was her muscles that closed down. She will only be able to be happy about her best time in two, three, four days," said RTL expert Sabrina Mockenhaupt about Assefa's suffering at the largest and most famous marathon in Germany.
First Sawe cancels, then the drama surrounding Assefa
It was the next bitter setback for the ambitious organizers in Berlin. If the organizers had had their way, two records should have been broken on one of the fastest marathon routes in the world. But a few weeks before the Berlin Marathon, world record holder Sabastian Sawe had to withdraw from the men's race due to injury.
So hopes for the 14th world record in the capital rested on Assefa. “I am very well prepared and want to beat my best time,” explained the 29-year-old, according to the World Athletics Association.
Third Berlin victory is just a side note
In almost optimal conditions in the capital, Assefa, driven by several pacemakers and tens of thousands of fans along the route, ran a lonely women's race from the start. However, the Olympic silver medalist in Paris and World Cup runner-up in Tokyo started a little slower than Chepngetich when she set her world record in Chicago.
But Assefa kept the pace consistently high in the second half of the marathon. At kilometer 40 she was still clearly on course for a world record. Then the pain came - and the dream shattered. The fact that Assefa won in Berlin for the third time after 2022 and 2023 could hardly console her. Three years ago she ran a world record of 2:11:53 hours. Then Chepngetich took the record from her.
Pfeiffer's German record dream is also shattered
Esther Pfeiffer, who wanted to break Irina Mikitenko's German record from 2008 (2:19:19 hours), also had a bitter day. She had to give up after around 15 kilometers in the second marathon of her career. Anna Langerwisch was the best German with a time of 2:27:31 hours. She ended up in 16th place.
In the men's race, Guye Adola from Ethiopia won in 2:02:50 hours. Haftom Welday, the best German, took 16th place in 2:08:25 hours. The fastest German marathon runners around European champion Amanal Petros did not start in Berlin. Instead, they are aiming for a start in Frankfurt in just over a month.
