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Ethiopia’s Milkesa Mengesha and Tigist Ketema Sweep 2024 Berlin Marathon Titles

By Chris Chavez

September 30, 2024

Ethiopia’s Milkesa Mengesha and Tigist Ketema won the men’s and women’s races at the 2024 edition of the Berlin Marathon on Sunday.

Here’s What You Need To Know:

– Mengesha won his first World Marathon Major in 2:03:17 ahead of Kenya’s Cybrian Kotut and Stephen Kiprop. Last year’s champion Eliud Kipchoge did not defend his title. Mengesha lowered his personal best from 2:05:29.

– Ketema was the heavy favorite coming into the race after debuting in 2:16:07 to win the Dubai Marathon in April, which is No. 3 on the Ethiopian all-time list. She pulled away before the halfway point and went on to win in 2:16:42, which is the third-fastest performance in Berlin Marathon history. Her win is the fifth consecutive victory by an Ethiopian woman at the Berlin Marathon. World record holder Tigst Assefa, who earned a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, did not defend her title. Ketema is training partners with Assefa.

– The Berlin Marathon set a world record for most finishers. Organizers reported 54,280 people finished the race. The previous record was 54,175 from April’s Paris Marathon.

– The next World Marathon Major of the fall will be the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 13th.

Chris Chavez

Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.