Ethiopian duo Milkesa Mengesha and Tigist Ketema won the men's and women's races respectively in the 50th running of the Berlin Marathon on Sunday.
Mengesha finished just five seconds ahead of Kenyan Kotut in an as yet unofficial time of 2hr 03min 17sec with both recording personal bests.
The times were outside the late Kelvin Kiptum's world record time of 2:00.35 and five-time Berlin winner Eliud Kipchoge's course record of 2:01.09, set in 2022.
Just look at what it means to him 🥹
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) September 29, 2024
Milkesa Mengesha comes out on top in the Berlin Marathon! 🇪🇹#BerlinMarathon pic.twitter.com/7hg8MpHTdz
Ketema, who ran her first marathon in January, won in an as yet unofficial time of 2:16.42.
Ketema's time was just under five minutes slower than training partner Tigist Assefa's world record of 2:11.53 but is the third-best winning time among the women in Berlin Marathon history.
A dominant performance by Tigest Ketema 🔥💪
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) September 29, 2024
The Ethiopian takes the women's title in Berlin 🇪🇹#BerlinMarathon pic.twitter.com/LVZmG8rFHw
With the Paris Olympics just over a month ago, many of the big names were missing from the starting blocks, including Kipchoge, who has broken the world mark twice in the German capital.
The leading men's group broke away early, setting a strong pace over the first 10 kilometres of 28:42, just outside world record time, but slowed gradually in sunny conditions.
They are off ✅
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) September 29, 2024
The 50th edition of the Berlin Marathon is underway 👊🏃
📺 Stream #BerlinMarathon on DStv: https://t.co/rM90YyQxaw pic.twitter.com/FOtU4iGG2j
Just before the 40-kilometre mark, four men pulled away from the pack: Mengesha, Kotut, Haymanot Alew and Stephen Kiprop.
With the Brandenburg Gate in sight, Mengesha and Kotut distanced themselves from the chasers and were neck and neck until the Ethiopian managed to edge ahead in the final metres.
Alongside fellow Ethiopian Azmera Gebru, Ketema opened up an early lead over the rest of the pack, pulling away after five kilometres.
Just before the halfway mark, Ketema began to pull away from Gebru, opening up a 12-second lead.
Ketema continued to pull away from her compatriot, eventually crossing the line two minutes and six seconds ahead of second-placed Mestawot Fikir.
The 26-year-old Ketema is a newcomer to marathons, having run her first in January in Dubai. Although it was unofficial, her time of 2:16.07 was the best ever recorded by a debutant, showing she belongs at this level.