This archive report was first published on 29 September 2019.
Ethiopians Dominate at Berlin Marathon ¶
On September 29, 2019, the BMW Berlin Marathon kicked off in Berlin, Germany, with Kenyan elite athletes vying to retain the Kenyan title set by Eliud Kipchoge in 2018.
Attention was on Felix Kandie and Jonathan Korir as they sought to hold on to the Kenyan title in the absence of 2018 winner Eliud Kipchoge, who finished in 2:01:39.
The pressure was on the elite team against Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele, whose best time is 2:03:03.
The men's elite team had Felix Kandie, who currently holds the best time on the team at 2:06:03, as a strong contender.
Other notable names in the men's race included Kennedy Naibei, Willy Ngelel, Abel Kipchumba, and Bethwel Yegon.
In the women's race, triple champion Gladys Cherono aimed for a record fourth title.
At the 5KM mark, six runners were in the lead: Kenenisa Bekele (ETH), Birhanu Legese (ETH), Leul Gebrselassie (ETH), Getaye Fisseha Gelaw (ETH), Jonathan Korir (KEN), and Sisay Lemma (ETH).
By the 10KM mark, the men had passed in 28:52, a faster time than Eliud Kipchoge's last year.
Kenyan Gladys Cherono led eight women at the 10KM mark, passing in 33:29.
The second men's group passed the 15KM mark in 44:18, with Kenya's debutants Abel Kipchumba and Bethwel Yegon in this group.
The women's leading group consisted of five runners: Helen Tola (ETH), Mare Dibaba (ETH), Haftamnesh Tesfay (ETH), Ashete Bekere (ETH), and Gladys Cherono (KEN).
However, Gladys Cherono dropped out of the race after around 32KM due to an injury.
Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele was around 15 seconds outside the world record and eventually missed it by two seconds, clocking a time of 2:01:41.
Bekele's time was the second-fastest ever, the world lead, and an Ethiopian record.
Birhanu Legese took second in 2:02:48, becoming the third-fastest marathon runner ever, while Sisay Lemma took third in 2:03:36.
For the women's title, Ashete Bekere (ETH) won with a time of 2:20:14, followed by Mare Dibaba from Ethiopia, who came second with a time of 2:20:22.
