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2026 BMW Berlin Marathon

Tigst Assefa's World Record Attempt Slipped Away in the Final Kilometres of Berlin

Tigst Assefa's World Record Attempt Slipped Away in the Final Kilometres of Berlin

Assefa missed the women's marathon world record in Berlin after leading the pace deep into the race, but ran a 2:11:04 personal best and new course record.

Sep 27, 2026 by Katherine Lucas
Tigst Assefa's World Record Attempt Slipped Away in the Final Kilometres of Berlin

For 40 kilometres of the 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon, Tigst Assefa was on world-record pace. At halfway, she passed in 1:04:57 - a split that projected to approximately 2:09:53, a few seconds inside the outright women's marathon world record of 2:09:56.

At 35km, she was even further ahead of the record schedule. Her 1:47:32 split projected to 2:09:38 - 18 seconds inside the world record. She was speeding up and she was doing it in front of a stacked field, on the same Berlin course where she had once held the outright world record herself.

Berlin was waiting to watch history. Then something changed.

Assefa began to visibly struggle in the closing kilometres. Her pace dropped and the projected 2:09 finish began to disappear. She crossed the line in 2:11:04. The world record was gone, but the story remained.

Her winning time was a personal best by 49 seconds. It was also a new Berlin course record and she remains third on the all-time women's marathon list, bettering her previous mark of 2:11:53.

If we take a moment to look back in time, Assefa's career arc is one of the most unique in modern women's distance running. She was an 800m specialist with a personal best of 1:59.24 and represented Ethiopia in the event at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Her marathon debut wasn't until March 2022, when she finished seventh in 2:34:01. Just months later she won the Berlin Marathon in 2:15:37. In 2023, she returned to Berlin and produced the performance that changed her career: 2:11:53, then a women's marathon world record.

Ruth Chepngetich took the outright record in Chicago in 2024. Assefa, meanwhile, established another piece of history in London earlier this year. Just a few months ago she bettered her women's only marathon world record in 2:15:41

It is the progression that tells the story, not only in her career but in this race.

Halfway: 1:04:57 - approx. 2:09:54 pace.
35km: 1:47:32 - approx. 2:09:38 pace.
40km: 2:03:00 - still apex 2:09:44 pace.
Finish: 2:11:04.

The world record was there. It was in reach. Then it didn't fall.

Assefa appeared to be limping as she approached the finish, but she still produced one of the greatest women's marathon performances ever seen. Sport can be cruel, but she still chased the finish line home. Grit doesn't cover it. So while the record got away, the performance did not.

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