The elite field for the Berlin Marathon was announced on Thursday and features nine women with women 2:20 (and below) times and ten men who are all 2:05 (and below) finishers.
Ethiopia’s Tadese Takele, Kenya’s Ronald Korir and Cybrian Kotut will lead the way for the men in 50th edition of the marathon in Berlin on September 29. Meanwhile, Ethiopian Tigist Ketema and Kenyan Rosemary Wanjiru will be among the elite women that will line up for the fourth major of the year.
And for the first time in ten years, the event will be without Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, who raced in the Paris Olympics but dropped out due to injury at the 31km mark.
Kipchoge is the 2023 winner of the Berlin Marathon and said a back injury doomed his shot at a third straight Olympic marathon gold. He also confirmed that he will not compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Tadese Takele (2:03:24) and Ronald Korir (2:04:22) finished third and fourth at last year’s race and are are among the favorites to again run personal bests on a course that is largely flat and fast.
Kenya’s Cybrian Kotut and Kibiwott Kandie, along with Ethiopia’s Hailemaryam Kiros, all have sub-2:05 times and will be a factor in the closing moments leading to Brandenburg Gate.
For the women’s field, Ketema clocked a 2:16:07 at the Dubai Marathon in January and will be the one to watch as Wanjiru also looks for success in Berlin. She finished second at the Tokyo Marathon in March with a 2:16:14.
More than 50,000 participants are expected to run the streets of Berlin, a record for the event.
Here’s a look at the notable men and women elite challengers who expect to be in the running for the top prize at the 50th edition of the Berlin Marathon:
Men
Tadese Takele (Ethiopia) 2:03:24
Ronald Korir (Kenya) 2:04:22
Cybrian Kotut (Kenya) 2:04:34
Hailemaryam Kiros (Ethiopia) 2:04:41
Kibiwott Kandie (Kenya) 2:04:48
Bazezew Asmare (Ethiopia) 2:04:57
Samwel Mailu (Kenya) 2:05:08
Milkesa Mengesha (Ethiopia) 2:05:29
Haymanot Alew (Ethiopia) 2:05:30
Philimon Kipchumba (Kenya) 2:05:35
Women
Tigist Ketema (Ethiopia) 2:16:07
Rosemary Wanjiru (Kenya) 2:16:14
Genzebe Dibaba (Ethiopia) 2:18:05
Yebrugal Melese (Ethiopia) 2:19:36
Mestawot Fikir (Ethiopia) 2:20:45
Azmera Gebru (Ethiopia) 2:20:48
Sisay Gola (Ethiopia) 2:20:50
Ababel Yeshaneh (Ethiopia) 2:20:51
Mizuki Matsuda (Japan) 2:20:52
Fikrte Wereta (Ethiopia) 2:21:32
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