Berlin Marathon’s Elite Field Runs 25 Deep Under 2:08

Sabastian Sawe will start the Berlin Marathon on Sept. 27 with a 1:59:30 next to his name, the fastest marathon anyone has ever run, and he will have plenty of company. Six other men on the start list have gone under 2:05, 22 of the 36 have run 2:06:57 or faster, and an Olympic 10,000m champion sits all the way down in eighth.

The organizers revealed the full lineups on Instagram on Aug. 12, across four posts that separate the international entrants from the German ones and name 67 runners between them.

Sawe won here last year in 2:02:16 and comes back as defending champion. His 1:59:30 in London in April made him the first man to finish a race under two hours, and he has not raced since. Behind him, Gabriel Geay is second at 2:03:00 and Guye Adola fourth at 2:03:46; both were added to the field last week. Adola has won here before, in 2021, and Shura Kitata is fifth at 2:03:59, six years on from his London win. Getaneh Molla, Dejene Hailu and Erick Sang round out the seven under 2:05.

Barega won the Olympic 10,000m title in Tokyo and ran his first marathon only last year. His 2:05:00 is the eighth-fastest time in this field. Twelve of the 36 are entered at 2:05:59 or faster, and Taresa Tolosa, Tadu Abate and Asefa Boki are packed in behind him, all three within 40 seconds.

Japan’s contingent is 10 strong, and 95 seconds covers every one of them, from Kenya Sonota at 2:05:59 to Shin Kimura at 2:07:34. Ethiopia has nine men on the list and Kenya three.

Tigst Assefa heads the women’s list at 2:11:53, a time she ran on this very course in 2023 when it was a world record and which still stands as the Berlin course record. Eight women behind her have gone under 2:20. Rosemary Wanjiru returns as defending champion at 2:16:14, nearly five minutes faster than the 2:21:05 that won it for her last year. Bedatu Hirpa, a winner in both Dubai and Paris, is entered at 2:18:27.

Ethiopia supplies 10 of the 31 women, Germany eight, Japan four and Kenya three. The two Americans entered, Jacqueline Gaughan and Kodi Kleven, are separated by all of eight seconds, 2:24:40 to 2:24:48. France’s Manon Trapp has run faster than both at 2:23:38, and Britain’s Lucy Reid is in at 2:26:37.

Amane Beriso, who the organizer said in June would run in Berlin on her return from injury, does not appear in the August posts. Her 2:14:58 would place her second behind Assefa. The other three women named in June are all on the new lists.

Germany accounts for 20 of the 67 elite runners, more than any other country. Sebastian Hendel is the fastest of them at 2:07:33, which slots him 23rd among the men once the German and international lists are combined. Haftom Welday follows at 2:08:13 and Aaron Bienenfeld at 2:08:47. Kristina Hendel leads the German women at 2:27:29.

Assefa has said she intends to attack the world record again. Sawe’s 1:59:30 is already much speedier than the Berlin course record, Eliud Kipchoge’s 2:01:09 from 2022. Both fields start on Sept. 27.

Full Elite Fields

Elite Men

Sabastian Sawe 🇰🇪 1:59:30
Gabriel Geay 🇹🇿 2:03:00
Getaneh Molla 🇪🇹 2:03:34
Guye Adola 🇪🇹 2:03:46
Shura Kitata 🇪🇹 2:03:59
Dejene Hailu 🇪🇹 2:04:15
Erick Sang 🇰🇪 2:04:30
Selemon Barega 🇪🇹 2:05:00
Taresa Tolosa 🇪🇹 2:05:17
Tadu Abate 🇪🇹 2:05:38
Asefa Boki 🇪🇹 2:05:40
Kenya Sonota 🇯🇵 2:05:59
Tsubasa Ichiyama 🇯🇵 2:06:00
Kiyoto Hirabayashi 🇯🇵 2:06:14
Yuhei Urano 🇯🇵 2:06:23
Hidekazu Hijikata 🇯🇵 2:06:26
Yusuke Nishiyama 🇯🇵 2:06:31
Naoki Koyama 🇯🇵 2:06:33
Andamlak Belihu 🇪🇹 2:06:40
Kazuya Nishiyama 🇯🇵 2:06:45
Daisuke Uekado 🇯🇵 2:06:54
Jie He 🇨🇳 2:06:57
Sebastian Hendel 🇩🇪 2:07:33
Shin Kimura 🇯🇵 2:07:34
Richard Yator 🇰🇪 2:07:36
Haftom Welday 🇩🇪 2:08:13
Aaron Bienenfeld 🇩🇪 2:08:47
Johannes Motschmann 🇩🇪 2:10:39
Florian von Muschwitz 🇩🇪 2:15:03
Jakob Lange 🇩🇪 2:16:43
David Gärtlein 🇩🇪 2:18:01
Julian Großkopf 🇩🇪 2:18:17
Michel Nouguier 🇩🇪 2:20:13
Fabian Liebig 🇩🇪 2:21:51
Fabian Borggrefe 🇩🇪 2:23:31
Silvan Rauscher 🇩🇪 debut

Elite Women

Tigst Assefa 🇪🇹 2:11:53
Rosemary Wanjiru 🇰🇪 2:16:14
Bedatu Hirpa 🇪🇹 2:18:27
Dera Dida 🇪🇹 2:18:32
Zeineba Yimer 🇪🇹 2:18:47
Bosena Mulatie 🇪🇹 2:19:00
Misgane Alemayehu 🇪🇹 2:19:08
Bekelech Gudeta 🇪🇹 2:19:39
Evaline Chirchir 🇰🇪 2:20:33
Deshun Zhang 🇨🇳 2:20:53
Gadise Mulu 🇪🇹 2:20:59
Eebbisee Addunyaa 🇪🇹 2:21:13
Aminet Ahmed 🇪🇹 2:21:24
Rika Kaseda 🇯🇵 2:21:55
Mao Uesugi 🇯🇵 2:22:11
Pascaline Jelagat 🇰🇪 2:22:44
Manon Trapp 🇫🇷 2:23:38
Natsuki Omori 🇯🇵 2:23:45
Fatima Gardadi 🇲🇦 2:24:06
Jacqueline Gaughan 🇺🇸 2:24:40
Rino Goshima 🇯🇵 2:24:44
Kodi Kleven 🇺🇸 2:24:48
Lucy Reid 🇬🇧 2:26:37
Kristina Hendel 🇩🇪 2:27:29
Anna Langerwisch 🇩🇪 2:32:13
Thea Heim 🇩🇪 2:33:25
Cara Zollenkopf 🇩🇪 2:36:05
Esther Pfeiffer 🇩🇪 2:37:00
Katja Fischer 🇩🇪 2:40:13
Sophia Wunsch 🇩🇪 2:40:49
Jule Vetter 🇩🇪 2:42:18