On 7 April 2024, the who's who of the endurance sports community will meet at the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON to kick off the season on the Spree. As the organiser of the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON, SCC EVENTS is delighted to welcome the following athletes to the eagerly awaited races:
The top runners in the men's field
In the men's field, the two Kenyans Mathew Kimeli and Daniel Ebenyo are the clear favourites with half marathon best times of 58:43 and 59:04 minutes respectively. It must be emphasised that Kimeli's personal best is only just over the course record of 58:42 minutes. Daniel Ebenyo is the current vice world champion in the half marathon. The national elite is represented by Johannes Motschmann (Marathon Team Berlin), Aaron Bienenfeld (SSC Hanau-Rodenbach), Hendrik Pfeiffer (TK Hannover), Simon Boch (LG Telis Finanz Regensburg) and Samuel Fitwi (Silvesterlauf Trier). A very strong field overall, from which top times can be expected both internationally and nationally.
The top runners in the women's field
With her best time of 65:18 minutes, Melat Kejeta from Laufteam Kassel clearly has the potential to break the previous course record of 65:02 minutes. Deborah and Rabea Schöneborn as well as Blanka Dörfel (all from Marathon Team Berlin) and Miriam Dattke (LG Telis Finanz Regensburg) will also be competing from a German perspective. Internationally, the Ethiopian Ftaw Zeray stands out with a personal best of 66:04. Switzerland's Fabienne Schlumpf rounds off the field. A new women's personal best is therefore also in the air for the course through the capital.
The top skaters
Jason Suttels (22, Team Powerslide) is considered one of the greatest young talents in inline skating. The Belgian won the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON in 2023, ending Bart Swings' winning streak of many years. Felix Rijhnen (33, Team Powerslide) has his sights set on his fifth victory at the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON this year. The German inline skater from Darmstadt is now also very successful on the ice, where he celebrated his first World Cup victory last winter.
New partnerships this year
As of this year, the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON is part of the SuperHalfs series. This expands the SuperHalfs series to six prestigious races and offers runners the opportunity to become SuperRunners in order to receive an exclusive medal (at the end) after all races in the SuperHalfs series have finished. Also new this year is the partnership with Peloton, the provider of interactive training experiences. Martin Richter, in his role as General Manager Germany and Austria at Peloton, comments: "Our mission is to create a fun and motivating training environment through accessibility, personalisation and community that empowers every athlete, regardless of fitness level, to get the best out of themselves. These perspectives are also made possible for participants in the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON. This makes the cooperation absolutely logical for us - we are thrilled about this partnership."
Many of the athletes mentioned above will be present at the press conference, as will Jürgen Lock, CEO of SCC EVENTS, Race Director Mark Milde and representatives of title partner Generali, as well as representatives of the police, Berlin fire department and Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe.
Accreditations for the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON 2024 can be applied for until 6 April (10:00 a.m.) exclusively via online form.
Further information is available on our website in the press section.
The press conference can be followed as a live stream on the SCC EVENTS YouTube channel. The same applies to the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON on race Sunday from approx. 9:15 am.
The newly prepared media guide for the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON with lots of information and statistics, athlete portraits and more will soon be available here.