Tigist Assefa sets women’s marathon record and Eliud Kipchoge, five-time champion in Berlin

The Berlin Marathon reconfirmed that this is the best race to sign victories for history. Tigist Assefa achieved an incredible women’s world record with a period of 2h11’53 (mixed race) and the great Eliud Kipchoge won by fifth time the test with 2h02’42. An unforgettable performance that the 26-year-old Ethiopian celebrated by kissing his newly-released supersonic sneaker and caused a stir due to its price in stores, 500 euros.

Assefa flew over the asphalt of Berlin negative, completing the second half of the test faster than the first, from the smallest to the most. He passed the halfway point of the marathon in 1h06’20 and the second section of the race, the most difficult, was signed in 1h05’33 to produce an average speed of 3’07 per kilometer. The record of Brigid Kosgei in Chicago 2019 with 2h14’04it stayed crushed for more than two minutes.

A massive brand that puts women’s capacity in another dimension, able to run below the 2h12 barrier, men’s Olympic minimum for most countries. This is the second marathon victory for Assefa, who also won in Berlin last year with 2h15’37, also in a mixed race that shares the test with men.

“I wanted to make a record, but it didn’t happen the way I expected”he assured Kipchoge just after winning for the fifth time at the Brandenburg Gate ahead of Vincent Kipkemoi with 2h03’13 and Tadese Takele with 2h03’24. “I had setbacks during the test, it’s normal. Every marathon is a lesson learned”The Kenyan said, resigned because he failed to achieve his main goal of further lowering his record of 2h01’09 achieved in the same event last year. Kipchoge ran with his support three hareswho accompanied him until kilometer 32 and Claus Henning-Schulke, his famous bicycle refresher who followed and encouraged him throughout the route.

“I want to make history and I will focus on preparing well for the Paris 2024 Olympic marathon. No one has won three consecutive gold medals in one Games and I want to be the first,” he explained about his next challenge, which he will start preparing for this week. Before, on October 20, he will pass through Oviedo to collect the Princess of Asturias Award in the sports category, a true award for his career.

Kipchoge once again showed that his 38 years (he will be 39 in November) is not a biological barrier to staying fast and competitive at the Pheidippides distance (42.195km). Throughout his career he has been saving four Olympic medalsthe last two in the marathon at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. The first – bronze – was achieved in the 5,000m at the Athens 2004 Games.

If he steps on the podium again at Paris 2024, it will be 20 years since his first medal, an example of longevity for an athlete who takes great care of himself every day to continue punishing his body through hard training sessions in Kaptagat (Kenya). This will be his 22nd marathon, with 14 of them in commercial races with 11 wins (Chicago 2014; London 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019; Berlin 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2022; Tokyo ).