The BMW Berlin Marathon 2025 celebrated its 51st edition on Sunday, September 21st, in the German capital, once again confirming its status as one of the world’s most popular sporting events. This year’s event brought together nearly 80,000 participants from 160 nations, including runners, wheelchair athletes, handcyclists, and skaters. The marathon alone featured 55,146 runners, with an average age between 41 and 45. Regarding gender distribution, 64% were men, 35% women, and 0.1% non-binary.

Kenyan Sabastian Sawe was crowned champion of the 2025 Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:02:16, confirming his status as favorite and scoring one of the most important victories of his career. Sawe, who had already shone with times of 2:02:05 in Valencia and 2:02:27 in London, dominated from start to finish in his Berlin debut and established himself as one of the most consistent marathoners today.

Her time in the half-marathon was 1:00:16, and although she failed to break the course record, her victory was undeniable, leaving the rest of the international elite behind from the opening stages.

Second place went to Japan’s Akira Akasaki, the day’s great revelation, who closed with 2:06:15, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele completed the podium with 2:06:57. In fourth place was Guye Adola (2:07:11), followed by fellow Japanese Yuhei Urano (2:07:35) and Frenchman Hassan Chahdi (2:07:43).

In the women’s race, Kenyan Rosemary Wanjiru took the win with a time of 2:21:04, after an intense battle in the final kilometers against Ethiopia’s Dera Dida, who finished just four seconds behind. Ethiopian Azmera Gebru completed the podium in 2:21:28, while Kenyan Viola Cheptoo took fourth place. The women’s race was marked by parity between Kenyans and Ethiopians, who dominated the race from start to finish.

The day was marked by higher-than-usual temperatures, which hampered record aspirations on a historically fast circuit. The organizers had previously published temperature management recommendations for all participants, aware that the weather would play a decisive role in the race’s progress.

Men’s results

The 2025 Berlin Marathon kicked off with a predicted duel between Kenyan Sabastian Sawe , one of the most consistent marathoners of the moment with times of 2:02:05 in Valencia and 2:02:27 in London, and Ethiopian Milkesa Mengesha, defending champion in the German capital with a personal best of 2:03:17.

10 kilometers: The pace was lightning fast in the first 10 kilometers. Sawe passed in 28:26, even faster than Kelvin Kiptum’s time of 28:42 when he broke the world record. Ethiopia’s Mengesha began to show signs of effort to maintain that pace, while Guye Adola and a tight group of pursuers remained expectant behind him.

15km: Kenyan Sabastian Sawe maintained his offensive approach and passed in 42:51, just 18 seconds off Eliud Kipchoge’s split time when he set the course record in 2022 (42:33) and faster than Kelvin Kiptum’s own world record in Chicago (43:09). Sawe looked solid, confidently receiving his refreshments, while Ethiopia’s Milkesa Mengesha began to lose contact and passed 11 seconds behind.

The chasing group, led by Chimdessa Debele, Guye Adola ,and Daniel Mateiko, crossed in 43:40, almost 50 seconds behind.

Half-marathon: Sabastian Sawe maintained his ambition and passed in 1:00:16, a time that kept him in the record projection despite the heat, although slightly above the partial times of Eliud Kipchoge when he achieved the circuit record (59:51 in 2022) and Kelvin Kiptum in his world record (59:47 in Chicago 2023).

The Kenyan had already opened up a significant gap: defending champion Milkesa Mengesha crossed the finish line in 1:01:14, almost a minute slower, and showed the first signs of wear. Behind him, Daniel Mateiko moved into third place in 1:01:49, closely followed by Ethiopians Chimdessa Debele and Haymanot Alew. Tanzanian Gabriel Geay, who had been a podium contender, crossed the finish line in 1:02:15, while the chasing group stretched out their gap to over two minutes.

25 kilometers: Sabastian Sawe crossed the 25-kilometer mark in 1:11:32. While he’s aiming for a personal best, a world record would require some negative splits.

30 kilometers: Sabastian Sawe consolidated his dominance of the race, crossing the finish line in 1:26:06 . The Kenyan was still projecting a time close to 2:01, while his rivals were already far behind.

35 kilometers: At kilometer 35 , Sabastian Sawe was in complete control. The Kenyan passed in 1:40:50, further widening the gap over his pursuers.

Ethiopian Chimdessa Debele remained in second place, but now 2:40 behind, while Kenyan Daniel Mateiko moved into third place in 1:43:54. Close behind him, Ethiopian Guye Adola (1:43:57) was looking to maintain his podium chances.

The big news in this section was the rise of Japanese riders Akira Akasaki and Yuhei Urano, who moved into the top seven alongside Samwel Mailu, confirming the depth of the chasing group. Also notable was the presence of Frenchman Hassan Chahdi, tenth in 1:46:05, consolidating a diverse top 10.

Sawe marched unopposed, with victory in his grasp and expectations set on the final time.

At the 40km mark, Sabastian Sawe left no doubt about his victory. The Kenyan crossed the finish line in 1:55:50, with a lead of almost four minutes over his pursuers.

Japan’s Akira Akasaki took a surprising second place with a time of 1:59:41, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele held on to third in 1:59:48. Behind them, Guye Adola (2:00:17) and fellow Japanese Yuhei Urano (2:00:40) completed the provisional top five, confirming the Japanese team’s emergence into the elite.

Further back, Frenchman Hassan Chahdi (2:01:11) and Japanese Shin Kimura (2:01:43) consolidated a top 7 with a variety of nationalities, but already far from Sawe’s relentless pace.

Final Results – Top 10

Results and Leaderboard

Sebastian Sawe’s split analysis

Women’s Results

10 kilometers: In the women’s category, the leading group remained compact until the 10-kilometer mark, with as many as five runners passing together in 32:37. Kenyan Rosemary Wanjiru was active at the front, accompanied by Ethiopians Dera Dida, Degitu Azimeraw, Mestawut Fikir, and Fantu Worku. Also close behind were Azmera Gebru and the experienced Girmayit Gebrzihair. The main women’s pack maintained a projected time of 2:17, a solid pace considering the hot conditions, although with no clear record prospects.

15 kilometers: Kenyan Rosemary Wanjiru continued to lead the main group, completing the 15 km mark in 49:05 . Close behind her were Ethiopians Fantu Worku, Degitu Azimeraw, Mestawut Fikir, and Dera Dida, all just a second behind. The collective pace kept a sprint finish open, with a projected time of around 2:18.

The immediate chasing group was led by Azmera Gebru and Girmawit Gebrzihair, who still had room to catch up. Further back, Kenya’s Sharon Chelimo and Ethiopia’s Ftaw Zeray were beginning to lose contact, showing the first significant gaps in the top 10.

21 kilometers: The leading group completed the half-marathon in 1:09:07, a demanding pace considering the temperature. Kenyan Rosemary Wanjiru led the pack alongside Ethiopian Dera Dida, while Fantu Worku kept pace. Azmera Gebru was just a second behind, and a little further back, six seconds behind, was Degitu Azimeraw, another favorite.

The elite group remained tightly packed, with six runners in under ten seconds, signaling a highly competitive second half. However, the hot weather cast doubt on the possibility of record attacks in Berlin, despite the projected time of around 2:18 at this point in the race.

30 kilometers: In the 30 km, Kenyan Rosemary Wanjiru took definitive control of the race, crossing the finish line in 1:38:41 . Behind her, Ethiopians Azmera Gebru and Dera Dida remained in pursuit at 24 seconds, while Fantu Worku and Kidsan Alema were just over half a minute back, still in with a chance of a podium finish.

The 2021 Valencia champion, Degitu Azimeraw, began to lose ground and passed in 1:40:05, already more than a minute off the lead. Kenyan Viola Cheptoo climbed to seventh place (1:40:12), while Germany’s Fabienne Königstein remained in the top 10 with 1:40:59, receiving support from the home crowd.

Wanjiru thus consolidated her favoritism, with a sustained pace that projected her to a final time close to 2h19.

35 kilometers: In the 35 km, Kenyan Rosemary Wanjiru maintained control of the race with a pace of 1:55:30, gradually distancing herself from her rivals.

Ethiopians Dera Dida and Fantu Worku were 53 and 54 seconds behind, respectively, as was Azmera Gebru, leaving the fight for the podium wide open. Further back, Kidsan Alema was fifth in 1:56:59, closely followed by Kenya’s Viola Cheptoo.

Among the Europeans, the German Fabienne Königstein stood out, seventh with 1:57:43, who took advantage of her home advantage to place herself among the top ten, along with her compatriot Domenika Mayer (1:58:37).

The 2021 Valencia champion, Degitu Azimeraw, dropped to eighth place, with no chance of challenging for the lead. Everything pointed to a final in which Wanjiru would look to maintain her lead against the Ethiopian team.

Final Results – Top 10

Results and Leaderboard

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