Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa delivered an awe-inspiring performance in Berlin that sent shockwaves through the world of marathon running. Over the gruelling 26.2-mile course, Assefa not only broke the women’s marathon world record but obliterated it, finishing in a remarkable time of 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 53 seconds.
What makes Assefa’s achievement even more astonishing is that she shattered the previous record, set by Brigid Kosgei in 2019, by an astonishing 2 minutes and 11 seconds. As Tigist Assefa surged through the iconic Brandenburg Gate towards the finish line, the 26-year-old Ethiopian displayed an incredible level of strength and determination, leaving spectators in awe and raising the question of whether she could further improve her record-breaking time.
This historic victory also reignites the debate surrounding running shoes, specifically the ongoing “super shoe wars.” Tigist Assefa was equipped with the new Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1s by Adidas, a footwear innovation that claims to push the boundaries of racing technology. Despite their steep price tag of £400, these shoes are likely to garner substantial interest in the wake of Assefa’s extraordinary performance.
While much of the pre-race attention in Berlin had focused on legendary Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge‘s bid to break the men’s world record, Assefa’s achievement took centre stage.
During the initial stages of the women’s race, a group of 12 runners maintained a pace that was faster than the world-record tempo. However, between the eighth and tenth miles, Tigist Assefa decided to increase the intensity, leaving her pacemakers as her sole companions on the quest for greatness.
Reaching the halfway point in 1 hour, 6 minutes, and 20 seconds, Assefa was on a trajectory to shatter the world record by over a minute. Remarkably, her second-half performance was even more exceptional as she etched her name into the annals of athletic history.
What makes Assefa’s achievement all the more remarkable is her relatively short marathon running career. She ran her first marathon just last year, clocking a modest time of 2 hours, 34 minutes, and 1 second in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, due to health issues. However, her stunning victory at the 2022 Berlin Marathon, where she finished in 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 37 seconds—then the third-fastest time ever—foreshadowed the greatness that lay ahead.
“I think this is the result of hard work over the last year,” said Assefa, who represented Ethiopia at the 2016 Rio Olympics over 800 metres before switching to the roads in 2018. I wanted to break the record, but that was not expected.”
Meanwhile, Eliud Kipchoge, who seemed poised to break his own men’s world record of 2 hours, 1 minute, and 9 seconds, experienced a slowdown in the second half of the race. Reflecting on his performance, he remarked, “I had some hiccups, but it is the nature of the race. I was expecting to break the record, but it did not come. But that is how sport is. Every race is a learning lesson.”
