Tigst Aseffa Leads Way In 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon

Tigst Assefa, Rosemary Wanjiru and Gabriel Geay headline the 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon after Sabastian Sawe withdraws due to injury.

Sep 16, 2026 by Mathias Cubillan

Tigst Assefa EXCLUSIVE Following Marathon World Record21:36

When the world’s eyes settle on Germany’s capital for the famously fast BMW Berlin Marathon, Tigst Assefa will be at the center.

U.S. audiences can watch the BMW Berlin Marathon LIVE on FloTrack, with coverage beginning at 2:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, September 27.

The race’s flat, fast course makes it a frequent setting for record attempts. Assefa is the headliner, ranking No. 3 all-time in the women’s marathon. She ran 2:11:53 to win the 2023 Berlin Marathon, a mark that was a World Record at the time. Earlier this year, the Ethiopian broke her own Women’s-Only World Record at the London Marathon, running 2:15:41. That mark was the third-fastest women’s marathon time in the world in 2026.

In a press release, Assefa confirmed that she would be taking a shot at recapturing the World Record in Berlin.

“It is a great pleasure for me to return to the streets of Berlin three years after setting my world record here in 2023,” Assefa said. “I am excited to once again try to break the world record.”

The Elite Women’s Field also boasts Rosemary Wanjiru, who is sixth on the world all-time marathon list thanks to her win at the 2023 Tokyo Marathon. Wanjiru also finished second at Berlin in 2022.

Esther Pfeiffer has stated her goal of breaking the German women’s national marathon record of 2:19:19, which would require her to shave just under 18 seconds off her personal best of 2:37:00.

The men’s field was at one point led by superstar Sabastian Sawe. However, the only man to ever run a marathon in under two hours at a record-eligible race, clocking a 1:59:41 in April at the TCS London Marathon, withdrew on August 27 due to injury.

Without Sawe as the headliner, the Elite Men’s Field is led by Gabriel Geay (PB 2:03:00), who finished second in the Boston Marathon in 2023 and Getaneh Molla (PB 2:03:34). Molla is fresh off a second-place performance at the Seoul Marathon in March.

Sebastian Hendel has battled health issues, but he is now leading the German contingent, aiming to reach the 2:07:00 mark that has eluded him in the past. Aaron Bienenfeld had the fastest debut by a German in history with a 2:08:47 this April in Hamburg and now is primed to aim even higher.

Elite Men Entries

Gabriel Geay
Getaneh Molla
Guye Adola
Shura Kitata
Dejene Hailu
Erick Sang
Selemon Barega
Taresa Tolosa
Tadu Abate
Asefa Boki
Kenya Sonota
Tsubasa Ichiyama
Kiyoto Hirabayashi
Yuhei Urano
Hidekazu Hijikata
Yusuke Nishiyama
Naoki Koyama
Andamlak Belihu
Kazuya Nishiyama
Daisuke Uekado
Jie He
Sebastian Hendel
Shin Kimura
Richard Yator
Haftom Welday
Aaron Bienenfeld
Johannes Motschmann
Florian von Muschwitz
Jakob Lange
David Gärtlein
Julian Großkopf
Michel Nouguier
Fabian Liebig
Fabian Borggrefe
Silvan Rauscher

Elite Women’s Entries

Tigst Assefa
Rosemary Wanjiru
Bedatu Hirpa
Dera Dida
Zeineba Yimer
Bosena Mulatie
Misgane Alemayehu
Bekelech Gudeta
Evaline Chirchir
Deshun Zhang
Gadise Mulu
Eebbisee Addunyaa
Aminet Ahmed
Rika Kaseda
Mao Uesugi
Pascaline Jelagat
Manon Trapp
Natsuki Omori
Fatima Gardadi
Jacqueline Gaughan
Rino Goshima
Kodi Kleven
Lucy Reid
Kristina Hendel
Anna Langerwisch
Thea Heim
Cara Zollenkopf
Esther Pfeiffer
Katja Fischer
Sophia Wunsch
Jule Vetter

FloTrack Archived Footage

Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloTrack subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.

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