Results and report from the 2021 BMW Berlin Marathon on Sunday as a pair of Ethiopians finished atop the women’s and men’s podiums. Ethiopia’s Guye Adola won the men’s race with pre-meet favorite and compatriot Kenenisa Bekele finishing third.
The build-up to the race saw many chatters predicting the possibility of a world record attempt on the men’s side, but no one in the end was able to challenge the world-best mark of 2:01:39, set by Eliud Kipchoge, also in the German capital in 2018.
On Sunday, Adola crossed the finish line in a time of two hours, five minutes, 45 seconds, with Kenya’s Bethwel Yegon running a time of 2:06:14 for second place.
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After splitting 60:48 for the first half of the race, Adola finished the second half much slower with a time of 64:57. According to the statisticians, the winning time is the slowest winning performance in Berlin since 2009.
“The race started off really fast, the leading pack couldn’t maintain that pace, so I took my chance to hit the front,” said Adola after his winning run
The 30-year-old was winning the first major marathon title of his career having finished second to Kipchoge on his marathon debut in Berlin four years ago.
Bekele, a two-time BMW Berlin Marathon winner, after claiming titles in the 2016 and 2019 editions, had to settle for third as his bid to break the world record fell short.
Meanwhile, the women’s race was won by Gotytom Gebreslase in her debut marathon. The Ethiopian finished the 42.195 kilometers (26.2 miles) race in two hours, twenty minutes, 09 seconds, which was well short of the women’s course record of 2:18:11 by Gladys Cherono.
Ethiopia’s Hiwot Gebrekidan who led for much of the race finished second in 02:21:23, with third place going to compatriot Helen Tola who posted 2:23:05.
2021 BMW Berlin Marathon Results
Top 10 results men marathon
1. Adola, Guye (ETH) – 2:05:45
2. Yegon, Bethwel (KEN) – 2:06:14
3. Bekele, Kenenisa (ETH) – 2:06:47
4. Abate, Tadu (ETH) – 2:08:24
5. Muteti, Cosmas (KEN) – 2:08:45
6. Kacheran, Philemon (KEN) – 2:09:29
7. Tsegay, Okbay (ERI) – 2:10:38
8. Kimeli, Bernard (KEN) – 2:10:50
9. Hijikata, Hidekazu (JPN) – 2:11:47
10. Kipkemboi, Hosea (KEN) – 2:12:25
Top10 results women marathon
1. Gebreslase, Gotytom (ETH) – 2:20:09
2. Gebrekidan, Hiwot (ETH) – 2:21:23
3. Tola, Helen (ETH) – 2:23:05
4. Chelimo, Edith (KEN) – 2:24:33
5. Demise, Shure (ETH) – 2:24:43
6. Chemutai, Fancy (KEN) – 2:24:58
7. Paszkiewicz, Izabela (POL) – 2:27:41
8. Chebitok, Ruth (KEN) – 2:28:18
9. Schöneborn, Rabea (GER) – 2:28:49
10. Strähl, Martina (SUI) – 2:30:37
