Ethiopian distance stars Tigist Assefa and Guye Adola delivered a victory at the Berlin Marathon on September 27, 2026, though the triumph carried a heavy physical toll. Assefa secured her third career title in the German capital with a time of 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 4 seconds, establishing the third-fastest women’s time in history over the 42.195-kilometer distance. Despite running on world-record pace through the 40-kilometer mark, a late right leg or foot injury forced the runner to grimace, stretch on the run, and limp heavily across the finish line near the Brandenburg Gate. In the men’s race, 35-year-old Guye Adola captured his second Berlin crown in 2:02:50, slashing more than a minute off his personal best.
Assefa’s Record Bid Undone by Late Pain
For the first 40 kilometers of the race, Tigst Assefa looked every bit like a runner destined to rewrite the record books. Accompanied by her pacemaker, the 2024 Olympic silver medalist and 2025 world champion held an 11-second advantage over the world record pace set by Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich at the Chicago Marathon in October 2024 (2:09:56), as reported in race data. Yet, inside the final three kilometers, physical distress interrupted her momentum. Struggling with a sharp pain in her right leg or foot, Assefa visibly grimaced and attempted to stretch her muscles while maintaining her forward motion.
She crossed the line in 2:11:04, failing to secure a smile at the finish area as she struggled to place weight on her right foot. Marathon legend and four-time Berlin winner Haile Gebrselassie stepped in to assist her away from the recovery area. Despite the grueling finish and missing out on the overall world record, Assefa shaved roughly 50 seconds off her previous personal best—which she originally set in Berlin three years prior as the first woman to break the 2:12 barrier with a 2:11:53 performance.
Global Context and Historical Standings in Women’s Marathons
Women's elite marathon racing has shifted dramatically in recent seasons. While Chepngetich holds the overall world record of 2:09:56 from Chicago, she is currently serving a three-year suspension starting April 19, 2025, following a positive test for the prohibited diuretic hydrochlorothiazide on March 14, 2025—though her previous results remain officially recognized. Ethiopian runner Fotyen Tesfay clocked a 2:10:51 mark at the Barcelona Marathon on March 15, 2026.
Assefa continues to hold the women’s world record for an exclusively female-only race, achieved when she won the London Marathon in April 2026 with a time of 2:15:41. In major global championships, however, tactical races have occasionally kept her from gold; she settled for silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics behind the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan and finished behind Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Guye Adola Triumphs in Men’s Field at Age 35
In the men’s division, Guye Adola controlled the closing stages of the race to claim his second Berlin victory. After his initial win in September 2021 (2:05:45), the 35-year-old Ethiopian stopped the clock at 2:02:50. That performance improved his personal best by over a minute.
Adola managed to hold off compatriot Gemechu Dida, who finished second in 2:03:19, and Tanzania’s David Geay, who took third in 2:03:59. While Adola’s time stands among the elite performances on the flat Berlin course, it remained more than a minute and a half outside the course record of 2:01:09 established by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge in the autumn of 2023.
What Comes Next
Major autumn marathon circuits continue globally over the coming weeks, while elite distance runners eye upcoming World Athletics and Abbott World Marathon Majors calendar updates.
Worth a look
:format(webp)/nginx/o/2026/07/02/17756334t1h2ed7.jpg)
