Two of Kenya’s top marathoners, Sabastian Sawe and Rosemary Wanjiru, will headline the 51st BMW Berlin Marathon on September 21, setting the stage for what could be one of the fastest and most competitive races of the year.
Sawe, the reigning world half-marathon champion, has only raced the marathon twice but has already left a mark on history.
His 2:02:05 debut in Valencia last December was the second-fastest debut ever and ranks fifth on the all-time list. He followed that with a commanding victory in London this past April, clocking 2:02:27, good enough for 10th-fastest in history.
At just 30 years old, he’s being talked about as one of the most promising marathoners in the world, and Berlin’s famously flat course could be the setting for something historic.
Race organizers are hoping for just that.
“We are delighted that Sabastian Sawe recognizes the BMW Berlin Marathon and its flat course,” said race director Mark Milde, referencing Sawe’s past win on Berlin streets at the 2023 Generali Berlin Half Marathon. “The race will certainly be exciting.”
He’ll face a strong field.
Defending champion Milkesa Mengesha returns after a breakout win at last year’s 50th anniversary race, where he ran a personal best 2:03:17. Also in the mix is Tanzania’s Gabriel Geay, who owns a 2:03:00 PB and returned to form earlier this year with a win in Daegu, clocking 2:05:20 after a difficult 2024 season.
“No other race in the world has set as many world records as Berlin since 1998,” said Jürgen Lock, managing director of organizer SCC EVENTS. That includes Eliud Kipchoge’s 2:01:09 in 2022, and Tigst Assefa’s 2:11:53 women’s world record in 2023.
On the women’s side, Rosemary Wanjiru returns to Berlin looking to build on an already impressive career that, in a way, started here.
In 2022, Wanjiru made her marathon debut in the German capital and finished second in 2:18:00.
She’s since won in Tokyo (2023) and placed second there earlier this year in 2:16:14, a personal best that makes her the tenth-fastest woman of all time. After missing last year’s Berlin Marathon due to injury, the 32-year-old is back and hungry.
She’ll be joined by a pair of strong Ethiopian challengers. Degitu Azimeraw, 24, ran 2:17:58 in London back in 2021 and has multiple sub-2:20 performances under her belt. Mestawut Fikir, 25, won her debut marathon in Paris last year and improved to 2:18:48 in Berlin later that season. Both are potential podium threats.
Europe will be watching Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal, Norway’s most decorated distance runner of the past decade, who’s making her second attempt at the marathon after dropping out in Hamburg this spring due to a shoe issue.
A three-time European cross-country champion and the reigning European Half Marathon Champion, the 35-year-old is hoping for a smooth run in Berlin and a shot at Ingrid Kristiansen’s legendary Norwegian record of 2:21:06, a mark that’s stood since 1985.
More than 50,000 runners are expected to race through the streets of Berlin this fall. With a stacked field, a record-rich course, and a history of defining marathon moments, the 2025 edition is shaping up to be unmissable.
