Ethiopians reigned supreme at the Berlin Marathon, with Milkesa Mengesha clinching the men's title and Tigist Ketema securing victory in the women's event.
Mengesha, 24, achieved a personal best time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 17 seconds, outpacing Kenya's Cybrian Kotut (2:03:22) and fellow Ethiopian Haymanot Alew. The final kilometer saw a thrilling duel between Mengesha and Kotut, but Mengesha accelerated in the closing moments, crossing the finish line five seconds ahead.
"I had been training intensely for this course. I knew it was very flat and I could run very fast times," Mengesha said, assisted by a translator. "But I had participated in the London Marathon before this and had to stop after 38km due to some issues. I was quite concerned about that."
The pre-race favorite on Sunday was Ethiopia's Tadese Takele, though the five-time winner Eliud Kipchoge was not competing. Takele finished in seventh place.
The women's podium was entirely Ethiopian. Ketema's time of 2:16:42 saw her finish more than two minutes ahead of Mestawut Fikir and Bosena Mulatie. Ketema established a significant lead in the first half of the race and secured victory with the third-fastest time in the event's history.
"I'm deeply grateful to be in Berlin. I am very happy, and with God's help, I was able to win this race," the 26-year-old Ketema said.
Ketema's time was five minutes slower than Tigst Assefa's winning effort of 2:11:53 last year, which holds the women's marathon world record. Several prominent names were absent in Berlin, as the race took place just over a month after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics.
