Injured Assefa holds on for 2:11:04 win in Berlin
Tigst Assefa won the Berlin Marathon on 27 September in 2 hours 11 minutes 4 seconds, hobbling over the finish line after a world-record attempt broke down late.
The 29-year-old Ethiopian ran the third-fastest women's marathon in history, according to the official results reported by BBC Sport. She was chasing the world record of 2:09:56. She missed it, but still broke her own course record.
Assefa went out hard. Very hard. She led the women's field by a full minute at the 15km mark and was still ahead of world-record pace at 35km.
Then her legs gave way. She faded badly in the final stages and was visibly injured as she reached the finish straight, limping and struggling to hold her form to the line.
Race director Mark Milde said she suffered a tendon issue during the race. Reuters reported that she was hit by cramps in the final two kilometres, which ended any chance of a world-best run, as detailed in Reuters.
The time still moved her own limits forward. Her previous personal best was 2:11:53, set when she won in Berlin in 2023. That run takes 49 seconds off that mark and lowers the Berlin course record — the fastest time ever run on this specific route.
It continues a strong year for the Paris Olympic silver medallist. Assefa won the 2026 London Marathon earlier this season in 2:15:41.
The world record she was chasing belongs to Ruth Chepngetich, who ran 2:09:56 at the 2024 Chicago Marathon. Chepngetich received a three-year doping ban in 2025.
Behind Assefa, Ethiopia swept the women's places. The top five finishers were all Ethiopian. Bedatu Hirpa finished second and Dera Dida was third.
Guye Adola made it an Ethiopian double. He won the men's race in 2:02:50 to regain the Berlin crown, as confirmed by World Athletics. It is his second victory in Berlin.
What makes this stand out is the gamble. To lead by a minute after 15km is to run alone for almost two hours, with no shelter and no help. For fans, this means Assefa now owns two of the fastest marathons ever run, both in Berlin, and leaves with the sense that 2:09 is reachable if her body holds.
