BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2023: The Finisher Magazine

AN OVERVIEW OF THE WOMEN’S EVENT
wards, she tore the lead group
apart with a huge increase in
pace. Tigst Assefa ran the 15-
to 16-kilometre segment with
Workenesh Edesa in 2:59 minutes.
It was her fastest kilometre
of the race and a pace that is
run when targeting a finish
time of around 2:06:00 hours.
Her compatriot then dropped
back a few kilometres later and
Assefa stormed over the half
marathon mark in 66:20 minutes—a
time that would win
many international races at
that distance.
Tigst Assefa ran even faster
in the second half of the race,
recording a time of 65:33 minutes.
“In the first half I saved
some energy for the second
part,” said Tigst Assefa, who
would have won the men’s
race of the BMW BERLIN-MA-
RATHON in the 1980s with her
winning time of 2:11:53. In 1983,
the Belgian Karel Lismont won
in 2:13:37, a year later the Dane
John Skovbjerg triumphed in
2:13:35.
Eight women under 2:20:
That is also a record
With an outstanding time of
2:17:49, Kenyan Sheila Chepkirui
finished second. This time
would have been a course record
in Berlin until 2021. Surprisingly,
debutant Magdalena
Shauri came in third, setting
a record for Tanzania with
2:18:41. Eight runners finished
under 2:20:00 hours in Ber-
Good spirits at high speed: Deborah
Schöneborn on the first kilometres of her
home marathon, which she finished in
2:27:35 hours.