Assefa takes center stage in Sawe's absence

Sabastian Sawe's withdrawal from the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON has not halted the talk about a world record being broken on Sunday 27 September.

The Kenyan was looking to lower the 1:59:30 he ran in London and retain the title he won in Berlin last year but injury has left the stage wide open for Tigst Assefa to become the headline act.

The Ethiopian has fond memories of Berlin, having won there in 2022 and 2023.

It was the second of those victories which propelled Assefa to the top of the sport, clocking a sensational 2:11:53 to set a then new world record.

Assefa has won two TCS London Marathons since then, smashing the women’s-only world record in 2025 and lowering it a year later to 2:15:41.

With Berlin’s history for quick times all eyes will be glued on the clock to see if Assefa can do something special again.

Her primary threat appears to be last year’s winner Rosemary Wanjiru, who valiantly battled the late summer heat to win her second Abbott World Marathon Major, backing up her win in Tokyo in 2023.

There will be interest in the returning Amane Beriso who ran 2:14:58 to win Valencia in 2022 and then finished second and third in Boston and Tokyo respectively before injuries curtailed her upward trajectory. She might have a say in matters if she has recovered sufficiently.

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