FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The top national athletes of the 50th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
- Top female athletes at the start
- Strong men's competition
Over 50,000 runners from more than 150 nations will come to Berlin on the
last weekend in September. They will all take part in the 50th BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON 2024, organised by SCC EVENTS. Top international runners
such as Tadese Takele, Ronald Korir and Kibiwott Kandie will compete in the
men's race. Tigist Ketema, Genzebe Dibaba and Yebregual Melese are among
the favourites in the women's race (for more information, see press release
from 15.08.2024) - unfortunately, Rosemary Wanjiru had to cancel her
participation. "I am extremely disappointed but I hope to return to Berlin
again in the future to finish by the Brandenburg Gate.", Wanjiru let
organiser SCC EVENTS know.
However, there are also top-class representatives among the national
athletes in the fields.
Melat Kejeta wil be returning to Berlin
A top German runner will be competing in Berlin on 29 September. Melat
Kejeta (Laufteam Kassel) will be returning to the Spree for the first time
since their debut races in Berlin. In 2019, Melat Kejeta surprised everyone
by finishing sixth with a time of 2:23:57. This is still the fastest
marathon debut time by a German runner. Melat Kejeta has been by far the
strongest German marathon runner in recent years. In 2021, she achieved an
outstanding sixth place at the Olympic Games in Sapporo (Japan) after
sensationally winning the silver medal at the World Half Marathon
Championships a year earlier. Kejeta returned last year after taking a
break to have a baby. In January 2024, she improved her time to 2:21:47 in
Dubai. This qualified her for the Olympic marathon in Paris in August. At
the Games, she had to pull out of the race early due to stomach problems.
Now the 31-year-old wants to impress with a good race at the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON.
After several other top German runners cancelled at short notice due to
injury, the national field will be rounded off by Melina Wolf (2:31:08
hours, LG Region Kalsruhe), Tabea Themann (2:31:33 hours, Turnerbund
Hamburg Eilbeck) and Thea Heim (2:33:25 hours).
Hendrik Pfeiffer and Abraham's marathon comeback
A year ago, Hendrik Pfeiffer (TK Hannover) took a big step forward at the
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON: With a time of 2:08:48, he improved significantly and
stayed under 2:10:00 for the first time. This was not enough for the
Olympic qualifying time, so he made another attempt in January 2024. In a
brilliant race without a pacemaker, he clocked 2:07:14 in Houston (best
time) and finished third. In the end, he was ten seconds short of securing
Germany's third Olympic starting place. In April, Hendrik Pfeiffer put in
another very strong performance. He finished seventh in the London Marathon
in 2:10:00 hours. It was the best placing by a German athlete in the men's
race in London since 1988. Filimon Abraham from LG Telis Finanz Regensburg
caused a sensation at the Barcelona Marathon in spring 2023 with a top time
of 2:08:22 hours, which crowned him the second-fastest German marathon
runner of all time at the time. Injuries then made life difficult for him.
For his marathon comeback, he chooses the fast roads in the German capital.
Haftom Welday, Sebastian Hendel and Johannes Motschmann
Haftom Welday made his sporting breakthrough in 2021. Berlin played a
decisive role in this. He used the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON to achieve
an enormous improvement of a good four minutes to 62:47 minutes. This is
still his personal best. At the end of September 2021, he returned to the
Spree for the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON and ran his marathon debut in 2:13:47.
One year later, he achieved an impressive improvement to 2:09:06 at the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON. This earned him a nomination for the 2023 World
Championships in Budapest. In Hungary, Welday was the best German runner in
a heat race, finishing 14th. This year, the athlete from TB Hamburg Eilbeck
confirmed his good form. In February, he ran 2:08:29 in Seville and then
set his personal best in the half marathon in Hamburg. In spring 2023,
Sebastian Hendel (LG Braunschweig) pushed his best time to 61:52 minutes at
the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON and in autumn of the same year he ran
2:10:14 hours at the marathon in Munich. He impressively beat the 2:10:00
time in Hamburg this spring. Hamburg this spring. With 2:08:51 hours,
Hendel moved up to ninth place on the list of the fastest German marathon
runners of all time. A personal best and an exceptionally strong placing at
the London Marathon in April 2024 should give Johannes Motschmann plenty of
confidence for the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. In London, the MARATHON TEAM BERLIN
athlete finished ninth in 2:10:39, the fourth-best time ever achieved by a
German runner in the men's race of the classic event. On the fast Berlin
course, his goal in terms of time is to run under 2:10:00 for the first
time. Johannes Motschmann spent four weeks at an altitude training camp in
St. Moritz and elsewhere preparing for the capital city race.
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