Berlin Marathon Record Chase
Tigst Assefa returns to the Berlin Marathon aiming to break the world record.
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Tigst Assefa will return to the Berlin Marathon on Sept. 27, 2026, aiming to reclaim the women’s world record on the course where she set her personal best of 2:11:53 in 2023. The current official record is Ruth Chepngetich’s 2:09:56, set in Chicago in 2024 and left intact after Chepngetich received a three-year doping ban for a later positive test; Assefa would need to run nearly two minutes faster than her best. Assefa arrives after setting a women’s-only marathon best of 2:15:41 in London, while the women’s field includes defending Berlin champion Rosemary Wanjiru. The men’s race lost its headliner, world-record holder Sabastian Sawe, who withdrew with an injury, but still features a deep field of elite contenders. A world record would also bring Assefa a substantial bonus under the race’s prize structure.
Key Points
1
A world-record performance could earn Assefa up to €110,000: €30,000 for winning, €30,000 for breaking 2:15:00, and a separate €50,000 record bonus.
2
Assefa is a two-time Berlin winner, having taken the race in 2022 and 2023, and won silver in the marathon at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
3
Fotyen Tesfay ran 2:10:51 on her marathon debut in Barcelona in March, making her the second-fastest woman ever over the distance and finishing 55 seconds outside Chepngetich’s record.
4
Among the men’s contenders are Gabriel Geay, Guye Adola, Getaneh Molla and Shura Kitata; Adola won the Rotterdam Marathon in 2:03:54 this year, while Molla and Kitata each have personal bests under 2:04.
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