Tigst Assefa had to be helped away from the finish line by Haile Gebrselassie after coming agonisingly close to breaking the world record at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON.
The Ethiopian was on course to reclaim the record she set in 2023 after setting a blistering pace and passing the 40KM mark at 2:03 dead.
But with race officials preparing to welcome in their new world record holder, Assefa’s body cruelly began to break down, forcing her to painfully limp towards Brandenburg Gate.
The 20-second buffer she had built up soon disappeared and she eventually crossed the line in 2:11:04.
It was Assefa’s third win in Berlin and the third quickest marathon in history but will forever be remembered as a ‘what if’ moment.
Such was Assefa’s dominance that even with her injury-ravaged finale she still finished almost six minutes ahead of Bedatu Hirpa, whose beaming smile on beating her compatriot Dera Dida by just two seconds contrasted sharply with the winner’s anguished look.
In the men’s race, Guye Adola won his second Berlin Marathon after timing his push for the line to perfection.
The Ethiopian certainly enjoys Berlin, having clocked his previous PB here in 2017 and then winning on the same course four years later, and he was part of a three-man group alongside Gemechu Dida Diriba and Selemon Barega who pushed ahead on 30KM.
Adola then found another gear on the 35KM mark and never looked in danger, winning in 2:02:50 – a new PB.
Diriba finished second while pre-race favourite Gabriel Geay, who appeared out of the reckoning, battled back to finish third.
Marcel Hug continued his dominance in Berlin, winning for the 11th time in the German capital.
The Swiss established a 41-second lead at the 5KM stage which ultimately rendered the race over.
His final winning margin of 5:58 underlined how dominant a performance it was.
The race for the final podium places provided plenty of entertainment with Sho Watanabe and Lito King Anker taking second and third respectively despite crossing the line at the same time as Ludwig Malter who was fourth.
Catherine Debrunner has a similarly dominant in racking up her third Abbott World Marathon Major win this season.
After wins in Tokyo and London, Debrunner eviscerated the competition in Berlin, finishing 6:52 ahead of Manuela Schar who herself was almost three minutes clear of Eden Rainbow-Cooper.
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