By Chris Chavez
September 24, 2023
Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa destroyed the women’s marathon world record with a 2:11:53 victory to defend her Berlin Marathon title on Sunday morning. Eliud Kipchoge notched his fifth victory in the German capital with a 2:02:42 and became the winningest man in Berlin Marathon history.
Here are some parting thoughts from the Berlin Marathon:
The Women’s World Record Was Demolished
– Tigist Assefa, 29, has found her calling at the marathon distance. This was just her third career marathon and she has made massive jumps each time. She debuted in 2:34:01 last year and then went 2:15:37 to move into then-No. 3 on the women’s all-time list. Prior to her marathoning prowess, she was a 2016 Olympian at 800m with a 1:59.24 personal best from 2014.
– This was her first race all year. She was slated to run April’s London Marathon but withdrew due to tendonitis.
– She took down Brigid Kosgei’s 2:14:04 world record from the 2019 Chicago Marathon. She is the first Ethiopian woman to hold the marathon world record. Prior to Sunday, no woman had broken 2:14, 2:13 or 2:12 and Assefa skipped all of them.
– She won by nearly six minutes as Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui finished in second in 2:17:49.
Kevin Morris / @KevMoFoto
– In processing Assefa’s splits, she covered the first 5K in 15:59, which would end up being her slowest of the day. She hit the halfway point in 66:20 and then only got faster. She hit the 30K mark in 1:34:12, which is the second-fastest split in history for that mark. Only Ruth Chepngetich, who ran 1:34:01, at last year’s Chicago Marathon was faster. However, Cheptngetich faded and finished in 2:14:18 (which was No. 2 in history at the time). Assefa pressed on and managed to get to 40K in 2:05:13. She closed the final 2.195 kilometers to the finish in 6:40. (Credit to Jonathan Gault, who pointed out that Kipchoge ran that part just four seconds faster.)
– In the end, the second half split was 65:33. For reference, her official half marathon personal best is 67:28 from last year’s Road to Records event at the adidas headquarters in Gerzogenaurach, Germany.
– What she said afterward via adidas’ press release following the race: “Berlin is very special to me, and after my win last year, I had big plans for today. I trained very hard over the last few months to accomplish the fastest time I have ever run.”
– adidas must be very pleased with Assefa’s performance as there will be much more attention over their $500 ADIZERO Adios Pro Evo 1 shoes. This is the first women’s marathon world record run in adidas since Mary Keitany ran 2:17:01 at the 2017 London Marathon for the world record in a women’s-only race. That performance is now No. 11 on the all-time list, including all marathons.
– Looking at the women’s all-time list now, adidas and Nike are now even at 5-5 among the top 10 fastest performances in history. Nike owns four of the top 5 – however, Paula Radcliffe’s 2:15:25 is the only one that precedes the super shoes era that started in 2016.
Kevin Morris / @KevMoFoto
Kipchoge Is Back On Top
– If anyone was ready to start writing off Eliud Kipchoge as one of the best marathoners in the world following his disappointing sixth place finish in Boston, he proved them wrong by winning in 2:02:42. The time is the eighth-fastest men’s marathon in history. He owns five of those top 8 times in history (No. 1 | 2:01:09, No. 3 | 2:01:25, No. 6 | 2:02:37, No. 7 | 2:02:40 and No. 8 2:02:42)
– Kipchoge has still never lost two marathons in a row. This was win No. 16 in his 19 career marathon races. This is his 11th victory at the World Marathon Majors.
– Kipchoge was on world record pace through the half marathon with a 60:22 split.
– With his fifth victory in Berlin, he breaks his tie with Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie for the most wins.
– What he said afterward: “I came here to make history and I am proud to be the first athlete to win Berlin Marathon 5 times. It is a special place for me and I want to thank all the spectators for the amazing support, I hear it all and it drives me to push myself. I get inspired to see so many people from around the world run together, let's all unite through running.”
– Kipchoge will turn 39 years old in November but has put himself in a good position to be selected by Athletics Kenya to go for his third gold medal at the Paris Olympics. The Kenyan Olympic team is determined by officials from Athletics Kenya.
Kevin Morris / @KevMoFoto
Rough Day For Scott Fauble
– Berlin’s flat course and perfect conditions were a perfect opportunity for Scott Fauble to potentially become the first American man under the 2:08:10 Olympic qualifying standard. Fauble was on pace for it with a 63:46 split at the halfway point. However, stomach issues caused him to start vomiting before the 30K mark and he was forced to drop out, according to agent Josh Cox. He added, “He is OK, no other issues.”
Fauble shared the following message on Instagram: "Well guys, tough day in Berlin. Came through halfway in 1:03:45 feeling great and then, just before 30k, I got a side ache then threw up. When I tried to get going again my glutes and hammy's said no way Jose, and that was all she wrote. I'm obviously bummed to not be able to cash in on a great training block, but if we're looking on the bright side- the bod is very much intact and the work isn't going away. Thanks for y'all's support, onwards we go."
– Teshome Mekonen, who switched his affiliation from Ethiopia to U.S. at the end of 2022, was the top American man in 2:10:16. It did not come easy as he accomplished it with 62:24/67:52 splits. Although he missed the Olympic standard, he did establish himself as a potential force to be reckoned with at February’s U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando.
– Jared Ward ran 2:11:44 for 27th place and managed to get quite a bit of TV time while Assefa came up on him. This was his best performance since 2019, which he described as “one big step in the right direction” in his Instagram recap.
– The United States men still do not have any men qualified for the Paris Olympics but could have some based on the World Rankings when the Road to Paris top 65 list is published in late January. For more on the U.S. men’s Olympic qualifying conundrum, please read James McKirdy’s guest blog here.
Kevin Morris / @KevMoFoto
More notable results from the women’s side
– This race set a record for the most women under 2:20 with eight.
– Tanzania’s Magdalena Shauri lowered her personal best from 2:33:28 to 2:18:41 to finish third overall.
– Charlotte Purdue ran a smart 2:22:17 to move to No. 2 on the British all-time list. Only Paula Radcliffe’s 2:15:25 former world record is faster.
– At 43 years old, Canada’s Malindi Elmore ran a personal best of 2:23:30 in 13th place for a personal best and just 18 seconds shy of Natasha Wodak’s Canadian record.
– Annie Frisbie was the top American in 2:27:02 for 17th place and came close to her 2:26:18 personal best from the 2021 New York City Marathon.
What comes next?
The World Marathon Majors continue with the Chicago Marathon on October 8th. The men’s marathon world record may be in jeopardy as London Marathon champion Kelvin Kiptum races on the flat course just months after running 2:01:25 for the second-fastest time in history. On the women’s side, Ruth Cheptngetich gave the marathon world record a scare last year but Assefa just made it much harder.
Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.
