Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya and Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia are on track to set world records halfway through the Berlin Marathon on early Sunday morning, September 24th.
Derseh Kindie is challenging Kipchoge, maintaining his lead beyond the halfway point. ALSO READ: How to watch Berlin Marathon Live
The trio and three pacemakers reached the halfway mark at 60 minutes and 22 seconds.
At the 15km point, the leading group clocked in at 42 minutes and 42 seconds, slowing slightly by the 18th and 19th km but still maintaining world record pace. At the 20km mark, the time was 57 minutes and 11 seconds—13 seconds ahead of the world record time.
Assefa Shatters Previous Bests, Targets World Record in Berlin Marathon
In the women’s race, the pace continued to increase well past the halfway point.
Assefa was on world record pace at the 15km mark, clocking in 13 seconds faster than her 2022 time of 48 minutes and 43 seconds. She was neck and neck with Edesa, who was also running at a record-setting pace.
Assefa widened the gap by the 16km mark and reached the 20km point at 62 minutes and 52 seconds, 41 seconds ahead of the previous world record pace.
She hit the halfway mark at 66 minutes and 20 seconds, 40 seconds ahead of world record time, and on track to complete the race in 2 hours and 12 minutes.
