Performance
Berlin Marathon Turns 50
A Milestone Marking a New Era?
The 50th edition of the Berlin Marathon will be a huge milestone for this amazing race, but will also not include the back-to-back defending champion in Eliud Kipchoge. After his DNF in Paris, there are real questions about what the future holds for the GOAT. But the quick turn from the Olympics also means that the Berlin fields are a bit more open than in years past.
On the men’s side you’ve got six runners with PRs under 2:05, though I’ll be specifically keeping my eye on former half marathon world record holder Kibiwott Kandie (57:32, Valencia 2020; and a marathon PR of 2:04:48, Valencia 2023). I am no science guy, but if you can run a 57-minute half you might be able to run very fast over the marathon …
On the women’s side, earlier this year Tigist Ketema ran the fastest debut of all time (2:16:07, Dubai) and is one to watch. And, while I don’t think she’ll win, it’s always fun when a former 1500m world record holder lines up for a marathon – and we’ll get that in Berlin from Genzebe Dibaba.
And of final note, Berlin is expecting over 50,000 runners, which is massive, and the vibes will undoubtedly be through the roof – tune in.
The live broadcast is scheduled to start at 8:30 AM Central European Time (GMT +2). Flosports has the livestream in territories including the USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand.
