Running News Daily

Ethiopian marathon star Tigst Assefa has delivered a powerful message from her hospital bed after undergoing successful surgery on a completely ruptured right Achilles tendon suffered during her extraordinary victory at the 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon.

The 29-year-old produced one of the most remarkable performances of her career, winning the women’s race in 2:11:04 and setting a new Berlin Marathon course record. Her performance became even more extraordinary after it emerged that she suffered the serious injury during the closing stages of the race.

At around the 40-kilometre mark, Assefa developed a problem with her right leg, with her stride visibly affected as she approached the finish. Despite the severe discomfort, the Ethiopian refused to abandon the race.

She fought through the final kilometres and crossed the finish line to secure another memorable Berlin victory, before receiving immediate medical attention. Medical examinations later confirmed a complete rupture of her right Achilles tendon.

Assefa was subsequently taken for treatment in Germany and underwent successful surgery at a hospital south of Munich. She now faces the challenging rehabilitation process required to return to elite competition.

In her first message since the operation, Assefa expressed her heartfelt gratitude to supporters around the world who have sent messages of encouragement and concern.

She thanked the global running community for standing beside her during the difficult period, saying she was deeply moved by the tremendous support she had received.

But the most striking part of her message was her determination to look beyond the injury and towards the future.

“I will definitely return to Berlin, and then I will break the world record,” Assefa said.

The declaration underlines the extraordinary ambition that has defined her marathon career. Berlin has played a particularly important role in her rise to the top of the sport.

Assefa first won the Berlin Marathon in 2022 before producing a historic performance the following year, when she ran 2:11:53 to establish a then-world record.

Although the women's marathon world record has since been lowered to 2:09:56, Assefa remains one of the most formidable marathoners in history. Her latest 2:11:04 victory also stands as the fastest women's performance ever recorded on the Berlin Marathon course.

Her latest triumph therefore carries a remarkable mixture of achievement and adversity. She not only secured the victory and course record but did so while suffering an injury that ultimately required surgery.

Now, a different race begins for the Ethiopian superstar — one that will demand patience, rehabilitation and resilience rather than simply speed and endurance.

Whether she can return to her best remains a question for the future, but Assefa's message has already made her intentions unmistakably clear.

Berlin may have witnessed her latest triumph, but Tigst Assefa believes her unfinished business with the German capital has only just begun.

Ethiopia’s Guye Adola has produced a perfectly judged performance to win the 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon, returning to the streets where his marathon career began to claim his second Berlin title in a sensational 2:02:50.

The 35-year-old Ethiopian controlled the race brilliantly before making his decisive move in the closing stages, crossing the finish line clear of compatriot Gemechu Dida Diriba, who finished second in 2:03:19. Adola’s winning margin was 29 seconds, underlining just how strongly he finished.

The victory adds another memorable chapter to Adola’s long association with Berlin. He first won the prestigious race in 2021, and five years later he returned to the German capital to produce the fastest marathon of his career.

Adola arrived in Berlin in excellent form after winning the Rotterdam Marathon in April in 2:03:54. That performance had placed him just eight seconds outside the personal best of 2:03:46 he had carried since his remarkable marathon debut in Berlin in 2017.

That debut remains one of the most memorable first appearances over the marathon distance. Adola stayed ahead of Eliud Kipchoge deep into the race before the Kenyan eventually overtook him. Adola finished second in 2:03:46, just 14 seconds behind Kipchoge, producing the fastest marathon debut at the time.

For years, that performance remained the benchmark of his career.

Even when Adola returned to Berlin in 2021 and won the race, he could not improve his debut mark. His breakthrough finally came in Rotterdam this April, when he clocked 2:03:54 — a sign that another major performance could be approaching.

On Sunday, he delivered it.

With world record holder Sabastian Sawe and legendary Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele both missing the race through injury, the men’s contest was wide open. The pacemakers were set up for an attempt at Eliud Kipchoge’s 2:01:09 course record, but the leading group reached halfway in 1:01:01, already outside record pace.

The race gradually began to break apart as the kilometres passed.

By 30 kilometres, three Ethiopians had established themselves at the front — Adola, Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega and Gemechu Dida.

Then came the decisive move.

After 35 kilometres, Adola increased the pace and began creating daylight between himself and the chasing group. Nobody could respond as the experienced Ethiopian steadily extended his advantage.

This time, there would be no late comeback.

Adola remained composed through the final kilometres before powering toward the finish in 2:02:50, taking an extraordinary 56 seconds off his previous personal best.

Gemechu Dida followed in 2:03:19 to secure an Ethiopian one-two, while Tanzania’s Gabriel Gerald Geay, the fastest athlete on the start list with a 2:03:00 personal best, completed the podium in 2:03:59.

Although Kipchoge’s course record survived for another year, Adola had achieved something equally significant for his own career — he had transformed his long-standing Berlin story into a new chapter.

From finishing second to Kipchoge on his marathon debut in 2017, to winning the race in 2021, and now returning five years later to run 2:02:50, Adola has repeatedly found his best moments on the streets of Berlin.

At 35, the Ethiopian has shown that experience, patience and perfectly timed aggression can still produce extraordinary results at the highest level of marathon running.

Top 10 — 2026 Berlin Marathon Men’s Results

1. Guye Adola (Ethiopia) — 2:02:50

2. Gemechu Dida Diriba (Ethiopia) — 2:03:19

3. Gabriel Gerald Geay (Tanzania) — 2:03:59

4. Getaneh Molla (Ethiopia) — 2:04:55

5. Selemon Barega (Ethiopia) — 2:04:58

6. Asefa Boki (Ethiopia) — 2:05:32

7. Andamlak Belihu (Ethiopia) — 2:05:55

8. Shura Kitata (Ethiopia) — 2:06:04

9. Yuhei Urano (Japan) — 2:06:09

10. Tadu Abate (Ethiopia) — 2:07:16

For Guye Adola, this was more than another marathon victory. Berlin is where his marathon story began, where he once pushed Kipchoge to the limit, and where he has now returned to produce the biggest performance of his career. His 2:02:50 victory not only gives him a second Berlin crown but also proves that, nine years after his stunning debut, his story at the Brandenburg Gate is still being written.

Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa produced one of the most dramatic performances of the 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon, winning the women’s race in a stunning 2:11:04 after seeing a potential world-record run unravel in the closing stages.

The 29-year-old Ethiopian arrived in Berlin with one enormous target in mind—the 2:09:56 world record set by Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich in Chicago in 2024. For much of the morning, Assefa looked perfectly positioned to attack the mark.

Running patiently behind her pacers, she remained on world-record schedule through halfway. At 35 kilometres, the Ethiopian was still moving at a pace that put the global record within reach, and even with only seven kilometres remaining, the possibility of history remained very much alive.

Then the race changed dramatically.

As the kilometres ticked down, Assefa’s pace began to slip. In the closing kilometre, she appeared to be struggling badly and started to limp, turning what had been a world-record assault into a desperate battle to reach the finish line.

The record was gone—but Assefa refused to surrender the race.

Despite the apparent physical setback and the immense fatigue of the final stages, she kept moving forward and crossed the line in 2:11:04, securing her third Berlin Marathon victory.

The final time was 1 minute and 8 seconds outside Chepngetich’s world record, but Assefa still walked away with an extraordinary collection of achievements: a new personal best and a new Berlin course record.

And the course record she broke was her own.

Assefa previously ran 2:11:53 in Berlin in 2023, a performance that established a world record at the time. Three years later, she returned to the same course and took an astonishing 49 seconds off that mark.

The performance also places Assefa among the fastest women ever to run the marathon, with only two women having recorded faster times.

Her Berlin story has now entered another remarkable chapter. Assefa has won the prestigious race three times—2022, 2023 and 2026—and each victory has come with a course record.

Her relationship with the German capital has therefore become extraordinary. Berlin has repeatedly been the place where Assefa has transformed ambition into historic performances, and Sunday was no different, even though the world record ultimately remained beyond her reach.

Her remarkable season had already included another major achievement. Five months ago in London, Assefa lowered her own women-only marathon world record to 2:15:41, further establishing herself as one of the defining marathoners of her generation.

But Berlin demanded something different from her.

This was no longer simply about speed. It became a test of resilience as the world-record dream disappeared and the final kilometre became a fight against exhaustion and apparent physical discomfort.

Assefa kept going.

She pushed through the pain, reached the finish line and secured another historic victory on the streets that have played such a defining role in her career.

Behind Assefa, Ethiopia dominated the front of the field, with Bratu Hirpa and Dera Dida completing an Ethiopian 1-2-3. Bekelech Gudeta and Alemitu Tariku also finished inside the top five, underlining the depth of the Ethiopian challenge. Kenya’s Pascaline Jelagat led the Kenyan contingent in sixth, followed by Ethiopia’s Misgane Alemayehu, while Ludwina Chepngetich and Evaline Chirchir finished eighth and ninth respectively.

Top 10 Women’s Results – 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon

1. Tigst Assefa (Ethiopia) — 2:11:04

2. Bratu Hirpa (Ethiopia) — 2:16:53

3. Dera Dida (Ethiopia) — 2:16:55

4. Bekelech Gudeta (Ethiopia) — 2:18:58

5. Alemitu Tariku (Ethiopia) — 2:19:01

6. Pascaline Jelagat (Kenya) — 2:20:23

7. Misgane Alemayehu (Ethiopia) — 2:20:27

8. Ludwina Chepngetich (Kenya) — 2:21:25

9. Evaline Chirchir (Kenya) — 2:21:32

10. Aminet Ahmed (Ethiopia) — 2:21:45

The world record survived in Berlin. Her own course record did not.

And perhaps that is what makes the 2026 edition of the BMW Berlin Marathon another unforgettable chapter in the remarkable story of Tigst Assefa.

Kenyan marathon sensation Sabastian Sawe has been forced to withdraw from the 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon because of injury, delivering a major blow to one of the most eagerly anticipated races of the year.

The 31-year-old Sawe, the reigning Berlin Marathon champion and marathon world-record holder, was scheduled to return to the German capital on September 27 with hopes of defending the title he won in 2025. However, injury has now ruled him out, bringing an abrupt end to his highly anticipated appearance.

The Berlin Marathon organisers officially confirmed Sawe’s withdrawal through their social media channels, expressing their disappointment at the Kenyan star’s absence and wishing him a full and speedy recovery.

Sawe’s withdrawal is particularly significant because the Berlin Marathon was expected to mark his first official marathon appearance since his historic triumph in London earlier this year. The Kenyan made history at the London Marathon in April by becoming the first man to officially break the two-hour barrier in a marathon, stopping the clock at an astonishing 1:59:30.

That extraordinary performance elevated Sawe to another level in the sport and made his planned return to Berlin even more eagerly anticipated. Having already conquered the German capital in 2025, he was expected to arrive as both the defending champion and the man at the centre of the marathon world’s attention.

Last year, Sawe produced a superb performance to claim the Berlin Marathon title in 2:02:16, establishing himself as one of the dominant figures on one of the fastest marathon courses in the world. He had hoped to build on that victory this year, but his injury has forced him to abandon those plans.

Sawe expressed his deep disappointment at the withdrawal, revealing that he was leaving the race with a “heavy heart” after hoping to achieve something special on the streets of Berlin. His words reflect just how much the opportunity meant to him as he looked forward to returning to the scene of his previous triumph.

His absence will be a significant blow to the 2026 Berlin Marathon, removing one of the biggest stars from an elite field expected to deliver another memorable race. Sawe’s remarkable speed, endurance and record-breaking credentials had made him one of the main attractions of the event.

For now, the marathon king’s priority will be a full recovery. The athletics world will hope to see the Kenyan star back on the starting line soon, healthy, stronger and ready to add another chapter to an already extraordinary career.

Berlin will have to wait for its champion. But when Sawe returns, the marathon world will be watching.