Assefa went the whole race on pace to break Ruth Chepngetich's tainted 2:09:56 mark, passing halfway in 64:57 and 40k in 2:03:00 (2:09:45 pace), but then she started limping in the final mile and slowed to a 2:11:04 victory. She also dominated the race by almost 6 minutes. On the men's side, nine hit halfway in 61:01 and seven were still in contention at 30k, but Adola came out on top to repeat the title he first won in 2021. Gemechu Diriba was runner-up in 2:03:19. Olympic champ Selemon Barega was 5th (2:04:58). *Results
*Video of final 6 mins of women's race
- Assefa skipped awards ceremony, is being taken to Munich to check for partial Achilles tear
- MB: Official 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon Live Discussion Thread
- MB: Wait, Assefa LIMPED to a 2:11 ???
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One messageboard poster describes the above interview as the "best interview I've ever seen." More Budapest interviews here.