Rosemary Wanjiru facing tough test in Berlin
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Reading Time: 2min | Sat. 17.08.24. | 14:00
A total of 13 world records have so far been set in the Berlin Marathon, the most recent being the 2:11:53 by Assefa in last year’s women’s race
Tokyo Marathon 2023 champion Rosemary Wanjiru is, so far the sole Kenyan in the elite list of this year’s Berlin Marathon women’s field slated for 29 September, celebrating the race’s jubilee.
The battle is expected to be between Ethiopia’s newcomer Tigist Ketema and the Kenyan. With their personal bests, they are among the top ten on the marathon all-time list. Ketema is the faster of the two.
She took the Dubai Marathon this year with an unofficial world debut record of 2:16:07.
She is a training partner of Tigst Assefa, who smashed the world record at the same race a year ago. Ketema, who had been better known as an 800m and 1500m specialist, stormed into the marathon spotlight in Dubai, making her the ninth-fastest women’s marathon runner in history.
She followed that with 2:23:21 for seventh place in London in April and Berlin will be her first race since then.
On her part, Wanjiru ran her marathon debut in Berlin two years ago. This year she improved to 2:16:14 when she was runner-up in Tokyo in March. That followed her sixth place in the World Championships marathon in Budapest and the Tokyo victory last year. Wanjiru also finished second in Berlin in 2022, running 2:18:00 on her debut.
Joining them on the start line are Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba and Yebrugal Melese, who have respective PBs of 2:18:05 and 2:19:36, plus their compatriots Mestawot Fikir (2:20:45), Azmera Gebru (2:20:48), Sisay Gola (2:20:50), Ababel Yeshaneh (2:20:51) and Fikrte Wereta (2:21:32), as well as Japan’s Mizuki Matsuda (2:20:52).
Former 1,500 m world record holder Dibaba will hope to achieve a fast time on the flat Berlin course. She ran a 2:18:05 debut in Amsterdam two years ago, but was not yet able to improve this time.
Fellow Ethiopian Melese is the fourth woman on the start list who has a sub 2:20 PB with 2:19:36.
A total of 13 world records have so far been set in the Berlin Marathon, the most recent being the 2:11:53 by Assefa in last year’s women’s race.
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Elite Runners for the 50th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON:
WOMEN
Tigist Ketema ETH 2:16:07
Rosemary Wanjiru KEN 2:16:14
Genzebe Dibaba ETH 2:18:05
Yebrugal Melese ETH 2:19:36
Mestawot Fikir ETH 2:20:45
Azmera Gebru ETH 2:20:48
Sisay Gola ETH 2:20:50
Ababel Yeshaneh ETH 2:20:51
Mizuki Matsuda JPN 2:20:52
Fikrte Wereta ETH 2:21:32
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