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2026 BMW Berlin Marathon

Tigst Assefa Chased the World Record | Berlin Marathon 2026 Results

Tigst Assefa Chased the World Record | Berlin Marathon 2026 Results

At the 2026 Berlin Marathon, Tigst Asefa went after the Women's World Record and came very close! Check out what happened during the race.

Sep 27, 2026 by Dan Hall
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ATHLOS Recap + Berlin Marathon Preview: Everything You Need To Know | The Meet Up36:57

The 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon often promises fast racing conditions. The 2025 rendition saw World Record Holder Sabastian Sawe run 2:02:16, while Rosemary Wanjiru claimed victory in the women's race with her 2:21:05.

At the 2026 Berlin Marathon, Tigst Asefa went after the Women's World Record, while she fell short, she still made history and remains one of the top marathon runners in the world. On the men's side Guye Adola came out on top running 2:02:50, 13th fastest all-time and his second win on the course.

4:57a ET - Assefa Takes the Win in the Women's Race
Sport can be cruel. Assefa held the world record within reach for the majority of the race, only to begin limping over the closing kilometre.
She still continued to chase the finish line and grit is one of many ways to describe it. She took the title in 2:11:04, a personal best, a new Berlin course record and remains the third fastest woman ever in the marathon. 

4:50a ET - The Men's Winner is Crowned
Guye Adola crossed the finish line in 2:02:50 to win the 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon! He made his marathon debut in 2017 in Berlin and won the same race in 2021.
Gemechu Diriba placed second in a massive personal best of 2:03:19, with Gabriel Geay to round out the podium in 2:03:59. 

4:30a ET - The Pace is Heating Up

A lot has changed over the last 5km and the pack split up. On the men's side, Guye Adola passed through 35km in 1:41:18. Gemechu Diriba still remains close, having hit the mark in 1:41:27 and Selemon Barega in 1:41:31. The rest is as follows: Gabriel Geay (1:41:50), Asefa Boki (1:42:13), Andamlak Belihu (1:42:13), Erick Sang (1:42:17), Getaneh Molla (1:42:30), Shura Kitata (1:43:17) and Yuhei Urano (1:44:21).
Assefa is speeding up. Her projected finish time is now 2:09:38, having passed 35km in 1:47:32 and Berlin is waiting to watch history!
The rest of the women's field follows. Bedatu Harp (1:52:42), Dera Dida (1:52:42), Alemitu Tariku (1:52:46) and Bekelech Gudeta (1:54:37) round out the current top five. 

4:20a ET - The Men's Lead Group is Still Stuck Together at 30km

The lead pack has thinned, but there are still seven at the front. Guye Adola, Selemon Barega, and Gemechu Diriba run through 30km in 1:26:57. Asefa Boki and Andamlak Belihu follow in 1:27:00, with Erick Sang and Gabriel Geay in 1:27:01. The projected winning time is just outside 2:02.
Assefa hit 1:32:15 at the 30k mark. The women's world record is still in reach. 

3:50a ET - The Runners Have Crossed the Halfway Point

The men's lead pack still remain close together. Erick Sang, Selemon Barega, Andamlak Belihu, Gemechu Diriba, Shura Kitata and Asefa Boki have gone through the first half of the race in 1:01:01. 
Assefa is on world record pace. She crossed the halfway point in 1:04:57. The makes her projected finish time 2:09:53 and would be a few seconds under the current world record. 


3:35a ET - The Leaders Over 15km

Erick Sang, Selemon Barega, Gabriel Geay and Andamlak Belihu lead in 43:24. On the women's side, it is Assefa against the clock. She now leads the women's race by 1:50, coming through in 46:13. Rosemary Wanjiru trails in 48:03 and Dera Dida in 48:19.

Sadly, Esther Pfeiffer dropped out of the race at 13km. It is unclear what has happened, but she has been on pace for the women's German national record.

3:30a ET - Assefa Continues to Widen Her Gap at the Front

Assefa went through the first 10km in 30:48, taking her lead from 25 seconds to 65 seconds over Rosemary Wanjiru, who hit the mark in 31:53. 

As Assefa approaches 14km she is currently predicted to finish the marathon under 2 hours and 10 minutes. 

3:15a ET - The Men's Lead Pack is Made up of 10 Runners,10km Done
Gabriel Geay and Erick Sang have now covered the first 10km in 28:58, with Andamlak Belihu, Asefa Boki, Gemechu Diriba, Guye Adola right there too in 28:59. Shura Kitata, Selemon Barega, Getaneh Molla and Taresa Tolosa followed in 29:00. 

3:02a ET - The First 5km and Here are the Numbers

It is still very early stages, but Tigst Assefa has gone through the first 5km in 15:30. This takes us to a rough projected finish time of 2:10:45.

The men's leaders over 5km include Selemon Barega, Asefa Boki and Erick Sang coming through in 14:29. For the women Assefa is already creating a gap. Rosemary Wanjiru follows in 15:55 and Pascaline Jelagat in 16:08.

2:53a ET - The First Splits Are In

The first few splits are in! For the men 2:52 over the first kilometre, totalling 5:47 through 2km! As for the women 3:03 for the first, then slowing to to 3:09 for the second. 

2:45a ET - The Elite Runners Are Off!
Here we go.The 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon is taking over the streets of the German capital. The elite men and women share the same start and in front of them, one of the fastest marathon courses in the world. 

Tigst Assefa headlines the women's field. She lines up on the course where she set what was the outright women's marathon world record in 2023 (2:11:53) - she still holds the Berlin course record and the women's only marathon world record of 2:15:41 from London this past April. She enters as the clear favourite.

Behind her: 2025 Berlin champion Rosemary Wanjiru, Bedatu Hirpu, Dera Dida, Zeineba Yimer, Bosena Mulatie, the list goes on. Esther Pfeiffer is targeting the German women's national record. Fourteen women in the field have run 2:25 or faster. 

As for the men, Gabriel Geay heads the men's field with a 34-second gap on the next-fastest entrant. Getaneh Molla (runner-up from Seoul in April), Guye Adola (2:03:54 in Amsterdam earlier this year), Shura Kitata, Dejene Hailu and 2020 Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega round out the front

Eliud Kipchoge's course record of 2:01:09 has stood for four years. This field is built to threaten it. 

2026 BMW Berlin Marathon Men's Entries

  • Gabriel Geay - Tanzania - 2:03:00
  • Getaneh Molla - Ethiopia - 2:03:34
  • Guye Adola - Ethiopia - 2:03:46
  • Shura Kitata - Ethiopia - 2:03:59
  • Dejene Hailu - Ethiopia - 2:04:15
  • Erick Sang - Kenya - 2:04:30
  • Selemon Barega - Ethiopia - 2:05:00
  • Taresa Tolosa - Ethiopia - 2:05:17
  • Tadu Abate - Ethiopia - 2:05:38
  • Asefa Boki - Ethiopia - 2:05:40
  • Kenya Sonota - Japan - 2:05:59
  • Tsubasa Ichiyama - Japan - 2:06:00
  • Kiyoto Hirabayashi - Japan - 2:06:14
  • Yuhei Urano - Japan - 2:06:23
  • Hidekazu Hijikata - Japan - 2:06:26
  • Yusuke Nishiyama - Japan - 2:06:31
  • Naoki Koyama - Japan - 2:06:33
  • Andamlak Belihu - Ethiopia - 2:06:40
  • Kazuya Nishiyama - Japan - 2:06:45
  • Daisuke Uekado - Japan - 2:06:54
  • Jie He - China - 2:06:57
  • Sebastian Hendel - Germany - 2:07:33
  • Shin Kimura - Japan - 2:07:34
  • Richard Yator - Kenya - 2:07:36
  • Ken Nakayama - Japan - 2:07:39
  • Shunsuke Shikama - Japan - 2:07:44
  • Shoma Hosoya - Japan - 2:07:48
  • Yuto Imae - Japan - 2:07:56
  • Wu Xiangdong - China - 2:08:04
  • Guojian Dong - China - 2:08:12
  • Haftom Welday - Germany - 2:08:13
  • Emanuel Dinday - Tanzania - 2:08:18
  • Laban Kiplimo - Kenya - 2:08:23
  • Aoi Ota - Japan - 2:08:31
  • Aaron Bienenfeld - Germany - 2:08:47
  • Felix Kurui - Kenya - 2:09:13
  • Tendai Zimuto - Zimbabwe - 2:09:30
  • Joseph Panga - Tanzania - 2:09:35
  • Paulo Paula - Brazil - 2:09:51
  • Jake Smith - Great Britain - 2:11:00
  • Tom Hendrikse - Netherlands - 2:11:07
  • Will Nation - USA - 2:11:14
  • Jiahao Wang - China - 2:11:17
  • Charlie Sweeney - USA - 2:11:28
  • Yohan Zaradzki - Belgium - 2:12:28
  • Lars Dewall - USA - 2:12:30
  • Zhangxing Yang - China - 2:12:36
  • Alexandru Corneschi - Romania - 2:12:39
  • Florian Von Muschwitz - Germany - 2:15:03
  • Jakob Lange - Germany - 2:16:43
  • David Gärtlein - Germany - 2:18:01
  • Julian Großkopf - Germany - 2:18:17

2026 BMW Berlin Marathon Women's Entries

  • Tigst Assefa - Ethiopia - 2:11:53
  • Rosemary Wanjiru - Kenya - 2:16:14
  • Bedatu Hirpa - Ethiopia - 2:18:27
  • Dera Dida - Ethiopia - 2:18:32
  • Zeineba Yimer - Ethiopia - 2:18:47
  • Bosena Mulatie - Ethiopia - 2:19:00
  • Misgane Alemayehu - Ethiopia - 2:19:08
  • Bekelech Gudeta - Ethiopia - 2:19:39
  • Evaline Chirchir - Kenya - 2:20:33
  • Deshun Zhang - China - 2:20:53
  • Gadise Mulu - Ethiopia - 2:20:59
  • Eebbisee Addunyaa - Ethiopia - 2:21:13
  • Aminet Ahmed - Ethiopia - 2:21:24
  • Rika Kaseda - Japan - 2:21:55
  • Mao Uesugi - Japan - 2:22:11
  • Pascaline Jelagat - Kenya - 2:22:44
  • Manon Trapp - France - 2:23:38
  • Natsuki Omori - Japan - 2:23:45
  • Fatima Gardadi - Morocco - 2:24:06
  • Jacqueline Gaughan - USA - 2:24:40
  • Rino Goshima - Japan - 2:24:44
  • Kodi Kleven - USA - 2:24:48
  • Margaux Sieracki - France - 2:25:50
  • Fadouwa Ledhem - France - 2:25:50
  • Lucy Reid - Great Britain - 2:26:37
  • Ayumi Morita - Japan - 2:26:48
  • Mary Munanu - Kenya - 2:26:59
  • Kristina Hendel - Germany - 2:27:29
  • Annie Bothma - South Africa - 2:27:45
  • Allie Kieffer - USA - 2:28:12
  • Maya Weigel - USA - 2:28:45
  • Rebecca Schmitt - USA - 2:28:47
  • Katja Goldring - USA - 2:29:01
  • Tessa Barrett - USA - 2:30:11
  • Annie Heffernan - USA - 2:30:26
  • Jana Soethout - Germany - 2:31:09
  • Rutendo Nyahora - Zimbabwe - 2:32:00
  • Anna Langerwisch - Germany - 2:32:13
  • Monica Hebner - USA - 2:32:40
  • Thea Heim - Germany - 2:33:25
  • Cara Zollenkopf - Germany - 2:36:05
  • Esther Pfeiffer - Germany - 2:37:00
  • Alemaddis Eyayu - Ethiopia - Debut
  • Ludwina Chepngetich - Kenya - Debut
  • Sisilia Panga - Tanzania - Debut

When Is The 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon?

The 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon takes place on Sunday, Sept. 27. For viewers in the United States, the race starts at 2:30 a.m. ET. In Berlin, the starting gun goes off at 8:30 a.m. local time.

Here's How To Watch The 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon In Berlin, Germany

FloTrack will provide live coverage of the 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon, bringing the action from the streets of Berlin, Germany, to viewers at home. Subscribe here to catch all of the action.

Coverage begins at 2:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, September 27.

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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