50th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON ON SUNDAY: Berlin’s Anniversary promises World Class Racing

The stage is set for the anniversary race on Sunday: the 50th edition of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON which has attracted a record entry of 58,212 runners from 161 countries while also offering celebratory elite fields of top quality. World class times can be expected yet again in a men’s race of high quality.

The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is the major running event in the German-speaking world and one of the top events around the globe. 

The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON has crowned only three men’s champions since 2015: Eliud Kipchoge has claimed four titles including two world records while Kenenisa Bekele twice won the race and his Ethiopian compatriot Guye Adola also triumphed on one occasion. The anniversary race this Sunday is destined to proclaim a different winner to these famous names. This time the group of potential winners is bigger which should make for an exciting contest. As many as 14 runners have personal best times of under 2:06. In this respect, this is the highest quality men’s field in the history of the event.

Five of them have broken 2:05. Last year’s third placer Tadese Takele returns to Berlin following his 2:03:24 here which makes him the fastest on the start list but he had not competed internationally since: “I’ve been injured but am fit now,” explained the Ethiopian. “I’ve trained very well and expect to run a strong race.” The Kenyan pair of Cybrian Kotut (2:04:34) and Kibiwott Kandie (2:04:48) as well as the Ethiopian duo of Hailemaryam Kiros (2:04:41) and Bazezew Asmare (2:04:57) are also competitors to be reckoned with in terms of top honours.

As the former world record holder in the half marathon, Kibiwott Kandie has great potential. His world record performance at the shorter distance of 57:32 is a strong indication that the 28-year-old could become one of the fastest marathon runners of all time. The Kenyan had to miss the preview press conference because of a delayed flight but his fellow Kenyan and world record breaker on this Berlin course, Paul Tergat, praised Kibiwott’s quality: “I know him well because he lives in my area. He has great potential and is still relatively young. Berlin is a very fast course. I hope he will run well.”

In terms of possible surprise winners, two names spring to mind: Samwel Mailu and Stephen Kiprop, both from Kenya. Last year Mailu destroyed the course record for the Vienna City Marathon with 2:05:08. Injury prevented the 2023 World Half Marathon bronze medallist from running a spring marathon this year. Kiprop was a clear winner of the Daegu Marathon in South Korea this year with a personal best of 2:07:04. “I had injuries for several years but am now healthy and have been able to train properly,” said Stephen Kiprop, whose half marathon best is 58:42.

Hendrik Pfeiffer leads a strong group of German runners on home territory, coming off an outstanding performance for third place in Houston in January with a personal best of 2:07:14. This made him the fourth fastest German man of all time for the event. “I’ve prepared very well and want to try to bring my time down to sub 2:07,” said Pfeiffer.

The German contingent also includes Filimon Abraham (2:08:22), Haftom Welday (2:08:24), Sebastian Hendel (2:08:51) and Johannes Motschmann (2:10:39). Never before has a quartet of German men with best times of under 2:09 run the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON.

Running legends Naoko Takahashi, Tigst Assefa, Paul Tergat and Irina Mikitenko together with Race Director Mark Milde at the press conference in Berlin – Photo: Victah Sailer – photorun.net

Legendary Berlin runners: Naoko Takahashi, Paul Tergat, Irina Mikitenko, Tigst Assefa

Four exceptional athletes were presented at the press conference in the Hotel Intercontinental whose performances have stamped their authority on the history of the BMW BERIN-MARATHON. In 2001 Naoko Takahashi achieved perhaps the high point in the race’s history when the Japanese ran 2:19:46 to become the first woman to break 2:20. “It felt as if I had achieved something impossible for humanity. This marathon changed my life,” reflected Naoko Takahashi.

Paul Tergat also broke through a time barrier in Berlin as the Kenyan became the first man to go under 2:05 with his time of 2:04:55 in 2003. “I shall always remember Berlin as a great piece of history in my life. It was the time of the founder of this race Horst Milde – father of Mark – We set the bar for the next generation of runners. These days I try to give something back to the sport,” said Tergat, who is the President of Kenya’s National Olympic Committee.

“I made my debut in Berlin and became a marathon runner here, Berlin is really the perfect venue for anyone to make their marathon debut,” explained Irina Mikitenko who then won the women’s title in 2008 with 2:19:19 which remains the German record. “Before this, 2:20 seemed a long way off but now the very best are running 2:11 – that was unimaginable at the time.” Tigst Assefa is the athlete in the latter category who ran  2:11:53 to send the world record into another dimension. “At the time I surprised myself but knew I had trained for it. Next year I hope to run in Berlin again and again write a page in running history,” said the Ethiopian, who won a silver medal in the Olympic Marathon in Paris this August.

Elite Men for the 50th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON:

Tadese Takele ETH 2:03:24

Cybrian Kotut KEN 2:04:34

Hailemaryam Kiros ETH 2:04:41

Kibiwott Kandie KEN 2:04:48

Bazezew Asmare ETH 2:04:57

Samwel Mailu KEN 2:05:08

Milkesa Mengesha ETH 2:05:29

Haymanot Alew ETH 2:05:30

Philimon Kipchumba KEN 2:05:35

Josphat Boit KEN 2:05:42

Dejene Megersa ETH 2:05:42

Enock Onchari KEN 2:05:47

Oqbe Ruesom ERI 2:05:51

Justus Kangogo KEN 2:05:57

Haimro Alame ISR 2:06:04

Ashenafi Moges ETH 2:06:12

Asbel Rutto KEN 2:07:04

Samuel Tsegay SWE 2:06:53

Yohei Ikeda JPN 2:06:53

Stephen Kiprop KEN 2:07:04

Hendrik Pfeiffer GER 2:07:14

Kento Kikutani JPN 2:07:26

Melaku Belachew ETH 2:07:28

Godadaw Belachew ISR 2:07:45

Yuhei Urano JPN 2:07:52

Guojian Dong CHN 2:08:12

Filimon Abraham GER 2:08:22

Haftom Welday GER 2:08:24

Sebastian Hendel GER 2:08:51

Olonbayar Jamsran MGL 2:08:58

Haftamu Gebresilase ETH Debut

More information is available online at: www.berlin-marathon.com 

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