BMW Berlin Marathon , 24 September 2023
ROAD RUNNING
Shiny New World Records
In a remarkable span of just 15 days in September and October this year , the world saw both the men ’ s and women ’ s World Records for the standard marathon distance broken , with two incredible performances by East African athletes on either side of the Atlantic Ocean . While both new records still need to be officially ratified by World Athletics , their stories deserve telling .
– BY SEAN FALCONER with WORLD ATHLETICS
Assefa Smashes Women ’ s Record
BMW Berlin Marathon , 24 September 2023
Ethiopia ’ s Tigst Assefa successfully defended her BMW Berlin Marathon title in style , smashing the world record with 2:11:53 at the World Athletics Platinum Label road race in the German capital . Last year , when she won in Berlin with a course record 2:15:37 on her first serious attempt at the marathon , it came as a complete shock . While more was expected of her in 2023 , she still managed to send shockwaves throughout the sport as she won in 2:11:53 , smashing two minutes and 14 seconds off the women ’ s World Record of 2:14:04 , set by Kenya ’ s Brigid Kosgei at the 2019 Chicago Marathon .
A large pack of the leading contenders ran together through the early stages of the women ’ s race , and there were 13 women still in contact with the lead as they passed through 10km in a swift 31:44 – and that proved to be the slowest segment of the race ! By 15km , Assefa and compatriot Workenesh Edesa had managed to open up a small gap on Kenya ’ s Sheila Chepkirui and Ethiopians Senbere Teferi and Zeineba Yimer , but the first 12 women were still within 15 seconds of one another – and all were running inside World Record pace .
Assefa then took command of the race by throwing in a 2:59 split for the 16th kilometre , dropping the rest of the field . Now running with just a few male pacemakers for company , she seemed to grow in confidence , and pace , clocking 31:07 for the second 10km segment . She reached the halfway point in
Tigst Assefa gives thanks for another great run in Berlin
Awesome Assefa Watch Tigst Assefa take the women ’ s World Record in Berlin .
1:06:20 , considerably faster than her half marathon personal best of 1:07:28 , and putting her on track to smash the World Record by more than a minute . And then she sped up still more !
Still looking relaxed , Assefa covered the next 10km segment in 31:20 and reached 30km in 1:34:11 , the second-fastest mark in history for that checkpoint behind Ruth Chepngetich ’ s 1:34:01 from the 2022 Chicago Marathon . But while Chepngetich faded badly in that particular race , Assefa just got stronger in the closing stages in Berlin . Her next 10km segment was timed at 31:02 – just 10 seconds slower than her 10km personal best of 30:52 – and she passed 40km in 2:05:13 , putting her on course for a finishing time in the 2:12 range , well under the World Record .
But again Assefa picked up her pace , and she charged through the finish line in 2:11:53 , with an incredible second-half split of 1:05:33 – a time that just four women have bettered this year in a standalone half marathon ! She finished almost six minutes ahead of
The 10 Fastest Women ’ s Marathons Times
Chepkirui ( 2:17:49 ), while Tanzania ’ s Magdalena Shauri made a remarkable breakthrough to take third place in a huge national record 2:18:41 . A record eight women finished inside 2:20 . Assefa is one of three women who appear twice each in the top 10 list of fastest marathon times ever run by women , with her World Record as well as the seventh-fastest time .
1 2:11:53 Tigst Assefa ( Ethiopia ) Berlin , Germany 24 Sep 2023 2 2:13:44 Sifan Hassan ( Netherlands ) Chicago , USA 8 Oct 2023 3 2:14:04 Brigid Kosgei ( Kenya ) Chicago , USA 13 Oct 2019 4 2:14:18 Ruth Chepngetich ( Kenya ) Chicago , USA 9 Oct 2022 5 2:14:58 Amane Beriso Shankule ( Ethiopia ) Valencia , Spain 4 Dec 2022 6 2:15:25 Paula Radcliffe ( Great Britain ) London , UK 13 Apr 2003 7 2:15:37 Tigst Assefa ( Ethiopia ) Berlin , Germany 25 Sep 2022 7 2:15:37 Ruth Chepngetich ( Kenya ) Chicago , USA 8 Oct 2023 9 2:16:02 Brigid Kosgei ( Kenya ) Tokyo , Japan 6 Mar 2022 10 2:16:28 Rosemary Wanjiru ( Kenya ) Tokyo , Japan 5 Mar 2023
Images : Sebastian Wells-Ostkreuz , Chad Veal / Wikimedia , Pexels & courtesy Berlin Marathon
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