Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru returned to familiar ground in Berlin on Sunday and delivered one of the biggest wins of her career, taking the women’s title at the 2025 Berlin Marathon in 2:21:05.
The 30-year-old, who made her marathon debut on this same course in 2022, broke clear of a strong Ethiopian field after 30 kilometers and held on through the warm, humid conditions to claim victory by just three seconds over Dera Dida of Ethiopia.
The race began with a tight pack of contenders hitting 10 km in 32:37, an aggressive pace given the rising temperatures. Wanjiru, Dida, Degitu Azimeraw, Fantu Worku, and Mestawut Fikir all pushed the tempo in the early stages, with little separating them through halfway. But as the heat began to take its toll, the field started to string out.
Wanjiru waited patiently before making her decisive move just after 30 km. By 35 km she had built nearly a one-minute cushion over the chasing Ethiopians.
The gap closed in the final stretch, with Dida cutting it down to a handful of seconds, but Wanjiru never looked like relinquishing control. She powered down the finishing straight with the same composure she showed throughout the morning.
For Wanjiru, the victory carried special meaning. Berlin was where she first tested herself over 26.2 miles in 2022, finishing second in 2:18:00. Since then, she has established herself among the world’s best with a win at the 2023 Tokyo Marathon and a blazing 2:16:14 runner-up performance in Tokyo 2024, the tenth-fastest women’s marathon ever recorded.
“Berlin is special to me, it’s where I started,” Wanjiru said before the race, noting how well she knows the course. Her prediction of a “good time” came true despite the challenging conditions.
Her victory also marked a shift in Berlin’s recent marathon narrative. Ethiopian women had dominated in recent years, highlighted by Tigist Assefa’s world record of 2:11:53 on the course in 2023. Wanjiru’s front-running display broke that streak, underlining Kenya’s continuing strength in women’s distance running.
Looking ahead, Wanjiru will be one of the leading contenders for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo. For now, though, her Berlin win stands as a defining moment: from debutante to champion on the same course, three years apart.
Full Women’s Results
- Rosemary Wanjiru 2:21:05
- Dera Dida 2:21:08
- Azmera Gebru 2:21:29
- Viola Cheptoo 2:21:40
- Fantu Worku 2:21:57
- Fabienne Königstein 2:22:17
- Degitu Azimeraw 2:23:02
- Domenika Mayer 2:23:16
- Honami Maeda 2:24:36
- Mestawut Fikir 2:24:52
