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Ethiopian duo Milkesa Mengesha and Tigist Ketema won the men’s and women’s races respectively at the 50th edition of the Berlin Marathon on Sunday.
Mengesha finished just five seconds ahead of Kenyan Cibrian Kotut in 2 hours 03 minutes 17 seconds, with both recording personal bests.
The times were off the late Kelvin Kiptum’s world record of 2:00.35 and five-time Berlin winner Eliud Kipchoge’s course record of 2:01.09, set in 2022.
“It was wonderful,” said Mengesha, 24.
“I’m totally happy.
“It was good not to be one of the favorites because I had no pressure.
“I was totally relaxed and finally achieved exactly what I wanted.
“I’m not the most experienced rider and I’ve had some bad experiences, but it was perfectly organized and the spectators were great too.
“It was hard and I enjoyed it. I prepared extremely well for it.”
Ketema, 26 and only competing in his first marathon in January, won in 2:16.42.
“I worked really hard with my coach and I want to thank my coaches from the bottom of my heart,” she said.
Ketema’s time was just under five minutes slower than training partner Tigist Assefa’s world record of 2:11.53, but it was the third fastest women’s time in the history of the Berlin marathon.
Many big names, including Kipchoge, left Berlin missing after competing at the Paris Olympics in July.
Despite the lack of world records, the men’s and women’s combined times made Sunday’s race the 12th fastest marathon of all time and the fourth in Berlin’s history.
The leading men’s group broke away early, setting a strong pace over the first 10 kilometers of 28:42, just outside the world record, but gradually slowed in sunny conditions.
Just before the 40 kilometer mark, four men broke away from the peloton: Mengesha, Kotut, Haymanot Alew and Stephen Kiprop.
With the Brandenburg Gate in sight, Mengesha and Kotut distanced themselves from the pursuers and were neck and neck until the Ethiopian managed to take the lead in the final meters.
Alongside fellow Ethiopian Azmera Gebru, Ketema quickly took an advantage over the rest of the peloton, pulling away after five kilometers.
Just before the halfway mark, Ketema began to pull away from Gebru, opening up a 12-second lead.
Ketema continued to pull away from her compatriot, eventually crossing the finish line two minutes and six seconds ahead of second-placed Mestawot Fikir.
Ketema signaled she could be a force in marathons with her debut performance in January in Dubai, her time of 2:16.07 the best ever by a beginner.
dwi/pi
