Mengesha and Ketema completed win at the BMW Berlin Marathon.

2024.10.01

Mengesha broke away from Cybrian Kotut in the dying stages to take the men’s championship in a PB of 2:03:17, while Ketema single ran her way to a 2:16:42 victory in the women’s race.(world athletics)

Kenya’s Kotut finished five seconds behind Mengesha in 2:03:22, with Ethiopia’s Haymanot Alew taking third in 2:03:31. Ketema led an Ethiopian top four in the women’s race, winning by over two minutes over compatriots Mestawut Fikir (2:18:48), Bosena Mulatie (2:19:00), and Aberu Ayana (2:20:20).

After a quick start Mengesha, who placed sixth in the World Championships marathon last year, was part of an 11-person lead group that kept the pacemakers at sub-2:02 pace through the halfway point in 1:00:57.

Kibiwott Kandie, Kenya’s former world half marathon record holder, took the lead after the pacemakers moved aside shortly after 25 kilometers. The group had shrunk to eight and was huddled together by the time they reached 30km in 1:27:21, with seven still in contention – including Ethiopia’s Tadese Takele, the fastest man in the race – when they passed the 35km mark in 1:42:14.

Kandie, Takele, and Ethiopia’s Dejene Megersa could not hang on, and the race was down to Mengesha, Kotut, Kenya’s Stephen Kiprop, and Alew with around 5 kilometers to go. They covered 40 kilometers in 1:56:59 before Mengesha and Kotut took the lead.

With the Brandenburg Gate finish line in sight, Mengesha passed his opponent and crossed it in 2:03:17, the third fastest time in the world this year and a personal best that beats his previous best by more than two minutes.

He went to his knees, and Kotut crossed the finish line first in 2:03:22—a personal best time by almost a minute.

After them came Alew, Kiprop, and Hailemariyam Kiros of Ethiopia. Yohei Ikeda became second on the Japanese all-time list after finishing sixth with a personal best time of 2:05:12.

Ketema won the women’s race with great ease. The 26-year-old is Tigist Assefa’s training partner. Tigist established a world record in 1:11:53 last year when she won in Berlin. The 26-year-old ran 2:16:07 in January during her marathon debut in Dubai.

With the help of her fellow countrywoman Azmera Gebru and a group of guys competing in the race, Ketema took the lead this time, covering 5 km in 16:06 and 10 km in 32:14.

At halfway, which Ketema reached in 1:07:53, she led by 12 seconds, and she continued to gain ground after that. Gebru had already passed her when she reached 30 kilometers in 1:36:59; Ketema’s nearest competitors were Mulatie, Fikir, and Ayana, who were racing together one minute and 53 seconds behind.

Ketema continued to press ahead until she reached 40km in 2:09:24, with a lead of 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Ketema won in 2:16:42, the third-fastest time in the women’s Berlin Marathon competition, although Fikir closed in slightly.

Mulatie finished third in 2:19:00, shaving over eight minutes off her previous best set from her Houston debut in January, while Fikir finished second in 2:18:48, a personal best by nearly two minutes.

Japan’s Ai Hosoda and Mizuki Matsuda were fifth and sixth, respectively, in PB times, behind Ayana in fourth place.

@charith rajapaksha