Participation record
Top women's field
Top skaters
Berlin legends
The 50th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON will start on the Straße des 17. Juni on Sunday with by far the largest field of participants in its history. Exactly 58,212 runners from 161 nations have registered for Germany's most spectacular and high-class road race. Including the supporting competitions, over 80,000 athletes will be taking part. The elite fields for the classic 42.195 km race will once again have a world-class line-up.
‘Berlin has really become the running capital. Our aim is to continue to motivate people to exercise and stay fit,’ said Jürgen Lock from organiser SCC EVENTS at the Thursday press conference. ‘50 years is a really big anniversary,’ explained Lock, who also referred to the enormous economic power of the race for Berlin.
BERLIN LEGENDS: Pippig, Loroupe, Makau, Petros
Uta Pippig, Tegla Loroupe, Patrick Makau and Amanal Petros were introduced as BERLIN LEGENDS at the press conference at the Hotel Intercontinental on Thursday. ‘I have wonderful memories of the races in Berlin. Running through the Brandenburg Gate in 1990 was amazing,’ recalled Uta Pippig, who won the first race through East and West. The Berliner also won the marathon in 1992 and 1995. In 1999, Tegla Loroupe broke the world record at the BERLIN MARATHON with a time of 2:20:43. ‘I really wanted to bring the record to Berlin,’ said Tegla Loroupe, who was living with her German manager Volker Wagner in Detmold at the time. In 2011, Patrick Makau ran a memorable world record of 2:03:38. ‘I had won the race the year before in the rain - after that my goal was clear: I really wanted to break the world record in Berlin, because the course and the conditions are great,’ said the Kenyan. Amanel Petros broke the German record in Berlin last year with 2:04:58. ‘The atmosphere in Berlin is simply incredible, the marathon is so international with runners from all over the world,’ said Amanal Petros.
Tigist Ketema: Will the next Ethiopian cause a furore?
When the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON celebrated its first big anniversary in 1998, the 25th race was crowned by a world record that fell from the sky, so to speak. There was nothing to suggest that Ronaldo da Costa would be able to run a time of 2:06:05. The Brazilian ran himself into a world record frenzy that caused a worldwide sensation. Will the women now cause a furore at the 50th anniversary of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON?
With her sensational world record a year ago, in which Tigist Assefa broke into completely new dimensions with a time of 2:11:53, the Ethiopian has set the bar extremely high in Berlin. Expecting a world record is at least as bold as it was before the 25th anniversary and not realistic. But one woman in the starting field could be good for an absolute world-class performance: Tigist Ketema is a training partner of Tigist Assefa, who ran to the silver medal at the Olympics in August and therefore cannot win in Berlin for the third time in a row.
An absolute world-class time is possible for Tigist Ketema. In January, she ran a sensational race in her first marathon in Dubai. She won in 2:16:07 hours and set an unofficial debut world record. This made the now 26-year-old the ninth-fastest female runner of all time at her first attempt. ‘I have prepared for a personal best and plan to run the first half on Sunday in around 68:00 minutes. I hope it won't be too cold because I prefer to run in slightly warmer weather,’ said Tigist Ketema, who is still a newcomer to the marathon.
‘Tigist will probably run at a slightly faster pace than the others. But overall, the top field is very compact and there could be a surprise,’ said race director Mark Milde, who has signed a total of eleven runners with personal best times of under 2:22:00. This has only happened once before in Berlin: in 2023, and there is much to suggest that the Ethiopian winning streak will continue on Sunday. The last time an athlete from this running nation won was four times in a row. And the fastest six runners on the start list are from Ethiopia.
Former 1,500m world record holder Genzebe Dibaba - a younger sister of Ethiopian running legend Tirunesh Dibaba - is hoping to run a fast time in Berlin. She clocked 2:18:05 on her debut in Amsterdam in 2022, but Genzebe Dibaba, who was Laureus World Athlete of the Year in 2014, has not yet been able to improve her time. ‘I saw Haile Gebrselassie run two world records in Berlin on TV back then. And since then I've always wanted to run in Berlin - now the time has come,’ said Genzebe Dibaba. ‘It would be a success for me if I ran a personal best.’
Melat Kejeta (Laufteam Kassel), by far the strongest German marathon runner in recent years, will be at the start. ‘I have very fond memories of the race and am delighted to be running here again,’ said the 32-year-old, who surprised everyone in her debut in Berlin in 2019 by finishing sixth in 2:23:57. She then also finished a very strong sixth at the Olympics in Sapporo (Japan). However, she was unlucky at the Games in Paris in August: due to stomach problems, she had to give up the race early. Instead, she now has the opportunity to run the 50th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. ‘I'm not in shape to attack the German record (2:19:19), but I hope to achieve a personal best. I've had slight knee problems recently and will have to see how things go on Sunday,’ said Melat Kejeta, who improved her time to 2:21:47 in Dubai in January.
Inline skating with both defending champions and Bart Swings
The inline skaters' race at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON will start on a new 7-km circuit on Saturday. The high-class competition is the last stop in the World Inline Cup and also in the German Inline Cup. Bart Swings, who has already won the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON eight times and set the current course record of 56:46 minutes in 2022, must be considered the favourite. Last year, however, the Belgian had to admit defeat to his compatriot Jason Suttles in second place. ‘It was great to win ahead of Bart last year. We have four strong athletes in the team - I hope that one of us will win,’ said the 2022 world champion.
The women's event will see a new duel between the two athletes who finished first and second a year ago: Gabriele Rueda, the defending champion, will face her Colombian compatriot Karoll Eliana Garcia Arias. Frenchwoman Marie Dupuy, the winner of 2022, will also be taking part. Josie Hoffmann (Gera) is hoping for a place on the podium. ‘I'm in really good shape - Berlin is a great event where you can also see where you stand in terms of the speed skating season,’ said the 26-year-old.
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