Tigst Assefa comes within two kilometres of marathon world record before late injury ends her bid

Tigst Assefa was less than three kilometres away from rewriting the women’s marathon world record in Berlin when her attempt suddenly unravelled.

The Ethiopian runner had controlled the BMW Berlin Marathon from the opening kilometres and was still comfortably ahead of the world-record schedule at the 40 kilometre mark. But with only around two kilometres remaining, her stride changed dramatically. She began to limp and her pace dropped, turning what had looked like a historic performance into one of the most dramatic finishes of the race.

Assefa still crossed the finish line first in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 4 seconds, winning the Berlin Marathon for the third time and setting a new course record.

The time was also the third-fastest women’s marathon ever recorded.

But the headline achievement could have been even bigger.

A record attempt that looked almost certain

From the start, Assefa ran at a pace that suggested she was targeting Ruth Chepngetich’s world record of 2:09:56, set in Chicago in 2024.

Her opening kilometres were exceptionally consistent.

She passed 5 kilometres in 15:30 and reached 10 kilometres in 30:48. At halfway, she crossed in 1:04:57, maintaining the pace required for a finish close to the world record.

The gap between Assefa and the rest of the field quickly became irrelevant. She was running alone at the front, leaving the main competition several minutes behind.

The race had effectively become a battle between the Ethiopian and the clock.

At 30 kilometres, she reached the mark in 1:32:19. Her pace remained remarkably stable, with successive 10 kilometre sections showing only minimal variation.

With five kilometres remaining, calculations put her projected finishing time at approximately 2:09:36.

For a while, the question was not whether Assefa could challenge the record, but whether she could become the first woman to run faster than 2:10 in Berlin.

Everything changed at 40 kilometres

The decisive moment came around the 40 kilometre mark.

According to World Athletics, Assefa had reached 40 kilometres in 2:03:00, still on schedule to finish around 2:09:44.

Then her running style suddenly changed.

She began to show visible signs of discomfort and started limping. The pace that had remained so consistent throughout the race disappeared during the final section.

The official Berlin Marathon account described the problem as a sudden injury to her right leg. World Athletics later reported that Assefa had suffered a partial tear of her Achilles tendon.

Earlier reports had described the late problem as cramps, reflecting the visibly dramatic change in her movement during the final kilometres.

Whatever the exact sequence of symptoms, the effect on the race was immediate.

The world record was no longer within reach.

Yet Assefa had built such a large lead over the rest of the field that she was still able to finish first.

She crossed the Brandenburg Gate in 2:11:04, more than two minutes slower than the world record but still with one of the fastest performances ever recorded by a woman over the marathon distance.

A third Berlin victory

The victory was Assefa’s third in Berlin.

She first won the race in 2022, recording 2:15:37. A year later, she returned and produced one of the defining performances of her career, running 2:11:53 and setting a world record at the time.

That record lasted less than a year.

Chepngetich subsequently lowered it to 2:09:56 in Chicago in 2024, establishing a mark that remains the women’s marathon world record.

Assefa’s latest Berlin performance does not reclaim the world record, but it strengthens her position among the fastest marathon runners in history.

Her 2:11:04 also improved her own Berlin course record by 49 seconds.

According to the race organisers, she became the first athlete in the history of the Berlin Marathon to win the women’s race three times while also setting a course record on each of those victories.

The final result was still extraordinary

The circumstances of the finish can make the final time look less impressive than the performance actually was.

Assefa ran almost the entire race at a pace that would have been sufficient to challenge the world record. Her final two kilometres, however, were dramatically slower after the injury.

World Athletics reported that she had been projected to finish in approximately 2:09:44 at 40 kilometres.

That means the difference between her world-record attempt and her eventual finishing time was created almost entirely in the closing section.

It was a reminder of how unforgiving the marathon can be.

A runner can spend more than two hours maintaining an extraordinary pace, only for a physical problem in the final minutes to completely change the result.

Ethiopia dominates the women’s podium

Assefa’s victory was also part of a remarkable Ethiopian performance in Berlin.

Bedatu Hirpa finished second in 2:16:53, while Dera Dida took third in 2:16:55.

Ethiopian runners occupied all five of the top positions, with Bekelech Gudeta fourth in 2:18:58 and Alemitu Tariku fifth in 2:19:01.

The depth of the Ethiopian field was one of the defining features of the women’s race.

The performance of Hirpa and Dida was particularly notable because both finished well inside 2:17, despite spending much of the race far behind Assefa.

Defending champion Rosemary Wanjiru of Kenya finished 13th in 2:24:04.

Berlin remains a special place for marathon records

The result once again underlined Berlin’s reputation as one of the world’s fastest marathon courses.

The flat route has produced numerous world records over the years, partly because of its profile and partly because of the quality of the elite field attracted to the event.

The 2026 race also benefited from favourable conditions, allowing the leading runners to maintain very high speeds.

More than 56,000 runners from 162 countries entered this year’s marathon, according to the organisers, making it one of the largest editions in the event’s history.

The combination of a fast course, strong international field and large crowds created the perfect setting for another world-record attempt.

For much of the morning, it looked as though Assefa would provide exactly that.

A dramatic finish to an exceptional race

There was a moment when the Berlin Marathon appeared to be heading toward another entry in the record books.

Assefa had the pace, the lead and the experience. She had already held the world record herself and knew exactly what was required to run at that level.

But the marathon ultimately produced a different story.

The world record remained out of reach, while Assefa’s body forced her to fight simply to complete the final kilometres.

She managed to do so and finished with a performance that still ranks among the very best in women’s marathon history.

The victory also demonstrated how much room Assefa had created between herself and the rest of the field. Even after her pace collapsed in the final stages, she had enough of a lead to win comfortably.

The more immediate concern after the race was her injury. The organisers said she was taken to hospital for further assessment and was unable to attend the usual post-race interviews and press conference.

That leaves the world-record question for another day.

What Berlin did establish, however, is that Assefa remains capable of running at a pace that can challenge the fastest marathon time ever recorded.

She came within roughly two kilometres of doing it again.

And for almost the entire race, the clock suggested that history was about to repeat itself.

Sources: World Athletics, BMW Berlin Marathon, Associated Press, NBC Sports