Samuel Fitwi Claims Second Place at Hamburg Marathon with Second-Best German Time

Samuel Fitwi secured second place at the 40th Hamburg Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2026, with a personal best time of 2:04:45, marking the second-fastest marathon ever run by a German athlete and ending a 27-year drought for German podium finishes in the historic race.

The 30-year-old runner from Trier trailed only Moroccan winner Othmane El-Goumri, who won in 2:04:24, by just 21 seconds. Fitwi’s performance represents a significant improvement from his previous personal best of 2:04:56 set at the Valencia Marathon in 2024.

His time of 2:04:45 places him just 42 seconds off the current German national record of 2:04:03, set by Amanal Petros at the end of 2025. The performance too marks the best marathon time by a German athlete since Petros’ record-setting run.

“I am exceptionally, very happy,” Fitwi said in a post-race interview with NDR. “The weather played along, the atmosphere is superb, the city is fantastic. Definitely, we will celebrate a little today.”

Fitwi’s second-place finish makes him the first German athlete to stand on the Hamburg Marathon podium since Carsten Eich achieved the same result in 1999. Before Eich, Jörg Peter was the last German to win the race in 1991.

In the women’s race, Brillian Jepkorir Kipkoech of Kenya dominated the field to win in 2:17:05, setting a new course record. Her time improves upon the previous best of 2:17:23 set by Yalemzerf Yehualaw of Ethiopia in 2022 by 18 seconds.

The Kenyan runner’s victory continued a streak of East African dominance in the women’s division, while Fitwi’s performance highlighted a resurgence in German men’s marathon running after years without national representation on the podium.

The 40th edition of the Hamburg Marathon attracted approximately 20,000 individual runners, alongside 1,600 relay teams and 8,000 participants in the accompanying half-marathon event. Ideal weather conditions contributed to fast times across both elite and recreational fields.

For German athletics, Fitwi’s result provides encouragement ahead of upcoming international competitions. His progression from a 2:04:56 personal best in Valencia to 2:04:45 in Hamburg demonstrates consistent improvement at the elite level.

The performance also continues a strong spring marathon season for German runners, following Amanal Petros’ record-setting run late last year. While Petros currently holds the national record, Fitwi’s Hamburg run shows he is closing the gap on Germany’s top marathon performer.

Looking ahead, Fitwi will likely target further improvements in his marathon time as he prepares for the next major championship cycle. His Hamburg result establishes him as Germany’s current second-fastest marathoner and positions him for potential national team selection in upcoming international marathons and championship events.

The Hamburg Marathon’s 40th anniversary celebration proved successful both in terms of competitive performances and public engagement, with tens of thousands of spectators lining the course to cheer on participants throughout the race.

As the running community reflects on this year’s race, Fitwi’s breakthrough performance stands out as a defining moment for German distance running, ending nearly three decades without a German podium finish in one of Europe’s most prestigious marathons.

The next major marathon on the international calendar will provide Fitwi and other elite runners with opportunities to build on their Hamburg performances as the global road racing season progresses.

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