FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Update:
Fantastic results at the #restartrunning of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
- Successful #restartrunning
- Thrilling men's race
- Awesome women's debut
- Rainbow start gate as a signal
It was a triumphant day for the Ethiopians at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, but
it was not the great hour of Kenenisa Bekele. Guye Adola and the debutant
Gotytom Gebreslase provided an Ethiopian double victory at the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON. The 30-year-old Adola won in 2:05:45 ahead of Bethwel
Yegon (Kenya), who crossed the finish line at the Brandenburg Gate after
2:06:14. It was not Kenenisa Bekele's day. The Ethiopian superstar had to
settle for third place in 2:06:47 in his hunt for the world record of Eliud
Kipchoge (Kenya), who had run a time of 2:01:39 in Berlin 2018. Philipp
Pflieger (LT Haspa Marathon Hamburg) finished 16th as the fastest German in
2:15:01.
In warm weather with over 20 degrees Celsius in the last part of the elite
race there was no chance for records this time. But a high-class debut was
run by 26-year-old Gotytom Gebreslase, who surprised the favorites and
triumphed in 2:20:09. This is the third fastest time in the world this
year. In second place Hiwot Gebrekidan ran 2:21:23. In third place Helen
Tola completed an all-Ethiopian podium in 2:23:05. Rabea Schöneborn (LG
Nord Berlin) was the fastest German runner in ninth place with 2:28:49. At
the 47th edition of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON - a race of the Abbott World
Marathon Majors series - 24,796 runners from 139 nations started under
strict hygiene rules. This made the race in Berlin the largest marathon
worldwide since the beginning of the Corona pandemic.
The men's race
The pacemakers led the leading group through the first part of the race at
a world record pace. Unexpectedly, Kenenisa Bekele and Guye Adola, who had
surprised everyone by finishing second in Berlin four years ago, when he
set an unofficial debut world record of 2:03:36, were joined by four other
runners in the lead group: the two Kenyans Philemon Kacheran and Abraham
Kipyatich, and the Ethiopians Tesfaye Lencho and Olika Adugna. This group
passed the 10-km mark in 28:47 minutes. This put them on course for a world
record finish time of just under 2:01:30. After Olika Adugna was the first
runner unable to maintain the pace, it was then surprisingly Kenenisa
Bekele who dropped back a bit. The defending champion already lost contact
with the leaders between kilometers 17 and 18 because he could not keep the
pace. With an intermediate half marathon time of 60:48 minutes, the leading
group was still just on course for the world record, but Bekele, who passed
this point after 61:00, was no longer. The fact that the three-time Olympic
long-distance champion was running at the front again after about 27
kilometers was due to the fact that the leading group had slowed down. With
kilometer times of over 3:00 minutes in some places, the world record was
out of reach. Guye Adola broke away from Kenenisa Bekele shortly before 35
kilometers and looked like a sure winner. But it became exciting again,
because Bethwel Yegon came from behind to the very front. Shortly before 40
kilometers, however, Guye Adola, who in 2017 in Berlin was only beaten by
Kenya's superstar Eliud Kipchoge, was able to gain ground and finally ran
to the biggest victory of his career. "I thought I had a chance of beating
Kenenisa even before the start. Kenenisa Bekele explained: "The big problem
was that I lacked some training due to the pandemic. As a result, things
didn't go as well as I had hoped. But my career is not over yet."
Things also didn't go as planned for Philipp Pflieger. He had hoped for a
best time in the range of under 2:12 hours and was also on course after the
first half with an intermediate time of 65:55 minutes. "I'm not happy with
the result. After an hour it became uncomfortably hot, so my pacemaker left
the race earlier than planned. I ran the last 17 kilometers alone and then
it was just a matter of getting to the finish line," said Philipp Pflieger.
The women's race
For a long time, the leading group of women ran at a pace that pointed to a
finish time of under 2:19 hours. In addition to the world's best of the
year Hiwot Gebrekidan (2:19:35), her Ethiopian compatriot Helen Tola and
the Kenyan Fancy Chemutai, the debutant Gotytom Gebreslase surprisingly
also ran in the first group that reached the half marathon point after
69:19 minutes. With just under ten kilometers to go, it was Gotytom
Gebreslase who picked up the pace and pulled away. She was still on course
for a top-class finish time of 2:18:30 at kilometer 35 with an intermediate
time of 1:54:54. But in the final kilometers, the newcomer also had to pay
tribute to the heat. She slowed down considerably and in the end missed a
debut time of under 2:20 by just ten seconds. "Although it was my first
marathon, my goal was to win the race. It is a very good course, I want to
come back to the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON," said Gotytom Gebreslase.
Together with the runners and partners, SCC EVENTS as the organizer of the
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON sent out a signal for cosmopolitanism, tolerance and
acceptance to the world with the rainbow start gate before each start wave.
Values for which the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON including its endurance sports
community has stood for years.
Follow the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON on Facebook and Instagram.
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