The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON has crowned only three men’s champions since 2015: Eliud Kipchoge has claimed four titles including two world records while Kenenisa Bekele twice won the race and his Ethiopian compatriot Guye Adola also triumphed on one occasion.
The anniversary race this Sunday is destined to proclaim a different winner to these famous names. This time the group of potential winners is bigger which should make for an exciting contest.
As many as 14 runners have personal best times of under 2:06. In this respect, this is the highest quality men’s field in the history of the event. Five of them have broken 2:05.
Last year’s third placer Tadese Takele returns to Berlin following his 2:03:24 in the German capital which makes him the fastest on the start list but he had not competed internationally since then.
“I’ve been injured but am fit now,” explained the Ethiopian. “I’ve trained very well and expect to run a strong race.”
The Kenyan pair of Cybrian Kotut (2:04:34) and Kibiwott Kandie (2:04:48) as well as the Ethiopian duo of Hailemaryam Kiros (2:04:41) and Bazezew Asmare (2:04:57) are also competitors to be reckoned with in terms of top honours.
As the former world record holder in the half marathon, Kibiwott Kandie has great potential. His world record performance at the shorter distance of 57:32 is a strong indication that the 28-year-old could become one of the fastest marathon runners of all time.
The Kenyan had to miss the preview press conference because of a delayed flight but his fellow Kenyan and world record breaker on this Berlin course, Paul Tergat, praised Kibiwott’s quality.
“I know him well because he lives in my area. He has great potential and is still relatively young. Berlin is a very fast course. I hope he will run well,” said Tergat.
Tergat also broke through a time barrier in Berlin as the Kenyan became the first man to go under 2:05 with his time of 2:04:55 in 2003.
“I shall always remember Berlin as a great piece of history in my life. We set the bar for the next generation of runners. These days I try to give something back to the sport,” said Tergat, who is the President of Kenya’s National Olympic Committee (NOCK).
In terms of possible surprise winners, two names spring to mind: Samwel Mailu and Stephen Kiprop, both from Kenya.
Last year Mailu destroyed the course record for the Vienna City Marathon with 2:05:08. Injury prevented the 2023 World Half Marathon bronze medallist from running a spring marathon this year.
Kiprop was a clear winner of the Daegu Marathon in South Korea this year with a personal best of 2:07:04.
“I had injuries for several years but am now healthy and have been able to train properly,” said Stephen Kiprop, whose half marathon best is 58:42.
Elite Men for the 50th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON:
- Tadese Takele ETH 2:03:24
- Cybrian Kotut KEN 2:04:34
- Hailemaryam Kiros ETH 2:04:41
- Kibiwott Kandie KEN 2:04:48
- Bazezew Asmare ETH 2:04:57
- Samwel Mailu KEN 2:05:08
- Milkesa Mengesha ETH 2:05:29
- Haymanot Alew ETH 2:05:30
- Philimon Kipchumba KEN 2:05:35
- Josphat Boit KEN 2:05:42
- Dejene Megersa ETH 2:05:42
- Enock Onchari KEN 2:05:47
- Oqbe Ruesom ERI 2:05:51
- Justus Kangogo KEN 2:05:57
- Haimro Alame ISR 2:06:04
- Ashenafi Moges ETH 2:06:12
- Asbel Rutto KEN 2:07:04
- Samuel Tsegay SWE 2:06:53
- Yohei Ikeda JPN 2:06:53
- Stephen Kiprop KEN 2:07:04
- Hendrik Pfeiffer GER 2:07:14
- Kento Kikutani JPN 2:07:26
- Melaku Belachew ETH 2:07:28
- Godadaw Belachew ISR 2:07:45
- Yuhei Urano JPN 2:07:52
- Guojian Dong CHN 2:08:12
- Filimon Abraham GER 2:08:22
- Haftom Welday GER 2:08:24
- Sebastian Hendel GER 2:08:51
- Olonbayar Jamsran MGL 2:08:58
- Haftamu Gebresilase ETH Debut
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