Tigst Assefa limps home just outside the women's world record at the Berlin Marathon

Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa came agonisingly close to the women’s marathon world record in Berlin on Sunday, only for a foot injury in the final kilometres to leave her limping across the line and collapsing on the road.

Assefa finished in 2 hours 11 minutes 4 seconds, the third-fastest women’s marathon in history and a new course record, beating her own 2:11:53 set in Berlin in 2023. But the world record of 2:09:56 stayed out of reach.

On record pace until the very end

Assefa made her intentions clear from the start. She opened a 25-second lead by the 5km mark and stretched it to a full minute by 15km, running largely on world record pace throughout.

She dropped slightly below that pace around the 25km mark, where the flat course has its only incline, but quickly recovered. At 35km she was 15 seconds inside the required pace, and with just two kilometres left she was still 10 seconds ahead of it.

Then, with the finish almost in sight, a foot problem struck. Assefa began to limp and fade, fighting on bravely but losing the seconds she needed. After crossing the line she collapsed and was taken for medical treatment, missing the podium ceremony.

A record under a cloud

Her late fade means the women’s world record remains with Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich, a mark that has been clouded since Chepngetich received a three-year doping ban in 2025.

Assefa, the Paris Olympics silver medallist, is now a three-time winner in Berlin. She had promised before the race to run “better than my best”.

It was an all-Ethiopian podium in the women’s race, with Bedatu Hirpa second in 2:16:53 and Dera Dida third in 2:16:55, almost six minutes behind the winner.

Adola wins the men’s race

In the men’s race, Ethiopia’s Guye Adola won in 2:02:50, adding to his Berlin victory in 2021. The 35-year-old only took the lead at the 30km mark but finished almost 30 seconds clear.

“My goal was to hold back a bit and see what the pacemakers did so I could know exactly what was happening, and that worked wonderfully well,” Adola told German broadcaster RTL. He added that there was “a pretty good chance” he would return.

His compatriot Gemechu Dida was second in 2:03:19 and Tanzania’s Gabriel Geay third in 2:03:59. Adola’s time was well outside the course record of 2:01:09 set by Eliud Kipchoge in 2022.

Hopes of a men’s world record had faded before the start, when world record holder Sabastian Sawe, the 2025 Berlin winner who earlier this year became the first man to run a marathon in under two hours, withdrew.

The world’s fastest course

Run in mild September weather on flat roads, Berlin is regarded as the fastest of the major marathons. The world record has been broken 13 times in the German capital, more than anywhere else.

Pakistan’s own athletes are chasing medals of a different kind this week, at the Asian Games in Japan, where the javelin final featuring Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem is scheduled for Monday and the country has already won four bronze medals.

Why it matters

Assefa’s run was one of the great near-misses in marathon history. To lead so far inside world record pace for more than 40 kilometres, only to be stopped by injury within sight of the finish, shows both how close the women’s record now is and how fine the margins are at this level. If she recovers fully, a clean world record for Assefa looks a matter of when, not if.

This article draws on reporting published by Dawn.