It’s official: Tigst Assefa to go after the marathon world record in Berlin

Can Tigst Assefa put the icing on the cake once more at the BMW Berlin Marathon? The Ethiopian long-distance runner wants to get the world record back on Sunday. Three years ago she moved the women’s marathon into new territory when she clocked 2:11:53 at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. But the following year, the world record was bettered to 2:09:56 by Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich in Chicago. While Assefa eyes the 2:10:00 barrier, Germany’s Esther Pfeiffer hopes to go sub-2:20:00 in an attempt to break the long-standing German record. It was back in 2008 when Irina Mikitenko won the Berlin Marathon in 2:19:19. 

Thirteen world records have been set in Berlin in the race’s history. This is a record in itself because there is no other marathon race worldwide that comes close to such a number. Assefa will now go for Berlin’s world record number 14. However, at the press conference, the 29-year-old held back a bit. When the question about the world record came in English Assefa understood and smiled happily before she replied in Amharic with the help of the interpreter, “I am really looking forward to running on the fast course in Berlin again and hope that I can continue my success story here on Sunday. I am very well prepared and want to run a personal best.” Her 2:11:53 PB is still the Berlin course record. With that time, she would have won the first eleven editions of the Berlin Marathon in the 1970s and 1980s – that shows the tremendous development of the world’s leading female marathon runners.

In Berlin, Assefa will face the defending champion Rosemary Wanjiru. However, the Kenyan will not be following Assefa’s world record pace. Her aim is to improve her PB of 2:16:14 to under 2:15:00. The Ethiopians Bedatu Hirpa (PB: 2:18:27), Dera Dida (2:18:32) and Zeineba Yimer (2:18:47) are also aiming for such a time. Dida is the wife of Olympic marathon champion Tamirat Tola and a training partner of Assefa. “We know each other very well, of course, and I expect us to produce strong performances,” said Dida.

The third women’s group is expected to run a sub-2:20:00 pace. Finnish runner, European Champion Alisa Vainio (2:20:39), who is competing in Berlin despite the short interval since the continental championships in Birmingham on August 16, will probably join this group. “My aim is to improve my personal best and hopefully run under 2:20,” said Vainio, who also competed at the Finnish Championships’ marathon in Jyväskylä just twelve days ago. She won this one as well with 2:27:47. “But for me this was just like a training run, and it felt fine.”

Pfeiffer is also aiming for a sub-2:20:00 time. “I plan to run a pace that will lead to the German record. This is my big goal, and my chase begins on Sunday,” said the 29-year-old, who has only run one marathon so far: In 2023 she won the Cologne Marathon in 2:37:00 and took the German title in a race without any significant challengers. Since then, Pfeiffer has strongly improved her personal bests at shorter distances. She clocked 67:25 at the Generali Berlin Half Marathon in March and improved her 10 km time to 30:45 after that. On Sunday her husband Hendrik Pfeiffer, who is among the leading German marathon runners, will pace her.

Berlin’s elite field has got very good depth once more. Seven runners on the start list have personal bests of sub 2:20:00. There have never been more than that in Berlin. And a record number of 13 women have entered with PBs of under 2:22:00. 

Injury forces Kenenisa Bekele to withdraw

There was bad luck for Ethiopia’s running legend Kenenisa Bekele. In one of his last training sessions before the planned journey to Berlin, he injured his left Achilles tendon. The two-time Berlin winner had to withdraw from the race.

Elite women