Ethiopian athlete Tigist Assefa achieved a remarkable feat in the women’s marathon during the Berlin race on Sunday. She completed the marathon in a blazing time of 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 53 seconds, shattering the previous world record by more than two minutes.
The previous record of 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 4 seconds was held by Kenyan runner Brigid Kosgei, set in Chicago in 2019. Assefa’s performance was a testament to her incredible athleticism and endurance.
Notably, Assefa finished her extraordinary run shortly after Eliud Kipchoge, the world-record holder among men, secured his fifth Berlin marathon victory.
Assefa’s dominance was evident as she crossed the finish line almost six minutes ahead of the second-place finisher, Kenyan athlete Sheila Chepkirui (+5:56). Tanzanian runner Magdalena Shauri came in third, trailing Assefa by 6 minutes and 48 seconds.
In near-perfect racing conditions in Berlin, Tigist Assefa broke away from the competition early on and maintained her exceptional pace throughout the marathon. Her achievement made her the first woman to establish a world record in Berlin since Japan’s Naoko Takahashi accomplished this feat in 2001.