Kenyans Sabastian Sawe and Rosemary Wanjiru won the men’s and women’s editions of the Berlin Marathon on Sunday, both breaking through for the first time in the German capital.
Sawe finished in 2hr 02min 16sec in just his third marathon attempt, 11 seconds slower than his personal best set on his debut in Valencia in 2024.
“It was hard but I gave my best. I’m happy about my performance,” Sawe told Germany’s RTL network.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
Sawe’s time is equal ninth fastest in history, but fell outside the late Kelvin Kiptum’s world record time of 2:00:35 and Eliud Kipchoge’s course record of 2:01:09, set in 2022.
The 30-year-old, who had been tipped to challenge both of those records, declined to blame the warmer than usual conditions, with temperatures of 25 degrees celsius and high humidity, while promising to return to Berlin next year.
“I felt good. You can’t change the weather of course. I was well prepared and I’m just pleased.
“I enjoyed the atmosphere in Berlin. I’m happy to be here and want to be back next year. I hope I can go a bit better.”
Japan’s Akira Akasaki finished second in a time of 2:06:15 and Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele completed the podium with 2:06:57.
Recording the best performance by a Japanese man since 1999, Akasaki said the warm conditions “reminded me” of racing in Japan.
Wanjiru, who finished second in Berlin in 2022, is the first Kenyan woman to win the race since 2018.
The 30-year-old surged ahead after 25 kilometres. She was 36 seconds in front at the 40-kilometre mark but slowed slightly, allowing the chasers to cut the margin.
As Ethiopia’s Dera Dida closed in with the Brandenburg Gate in sight, Wanjiru dug deep, pushing on to finish just three seconds ahead of her rival in a time of time of 2:21:05.
Dida said she “didn’t realise how close it was, but it wasn’t to be.”
Fellow Ethiopian Azmera Gebru was third, coming in 24 seconds behind the winner.
Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich’s world record time of 2:09:56, set in Chicago in 2024, and also well outside Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa’s course record set in 2023.
Hot in Berlin
Wanjiru collapsed after crossing the finish line before receiving help from a marathon attendant.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Success!
Almost finished…
We need to confirm your email address.
To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you.
Error!
There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.
Germany’s Sportschau reported the heat led to a delay in the women’s award ceremony as the finishers needed additional time to take in fluids and recover.
The men started quickly despite the heat, recording the fastest opening kilometre in the race’s history.
Sawe and the leading pack including 2024 winner Milkesa Mengesha and Gabriel Geay kept up the record pace early and were on track for the world mark inside the first 10 kilometres.
Sawe then separated himself from the leaders with 15 kilometres run, opening up an 11-second gap over Mengesha, while staying on world record pace at the half-way mark with a time of 60:16.
Sawe had run negative splits in both of his previous marathons but fell off the pace slightly in the second half of the race as the mercury climbed in Berlin.
Mengesha dropped out before the 30-kilometre mark.
Despite missing a personal best or challenging the course record of his mentor Kipchoge, Sawe’s time is the best in the world for 2025, bettering his own previous mark set in London in April by 11 seconds.
Sawe committed to a voluntary doping testing procedure in the lead-up to the race, completing an extra 25 tests in addition to the mandatory protocols, roughly one every three days.
