We’re just days away from the first Abbott World Marathon Major of the fall season, the 2024 Berlin Marathon, taking place on Sunday, Sept. 29. The 2023 race was unforgettable, with Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattering the women’s marathon world record in 2:11:53. While there are no marathon world record holders in the 2024 elite field, the race is stacked with up-and-coming talent ready to steal the spotlight.
The men’s race
For the past decade, the Berlin Marathon has been dominated by two of the greatest marathoners in history: Kenenisa Bekele (two-time champion) and Eliud Kipchoge (five-time champion). With both taking time off after the 2024 Paris Olympics, a new champion will be crowned in Berlin.
The top contender is Ethiopia’s Tadese Takele, the fastest seed in this year’s race. Takele finished third in Berlin last year with a U23 world-best marathon time of 2:03:24. A former 3,000m steeplechaser who represented Ethiopia at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Takele’s marathon best is over a minute faster than his nearest competitor, making him the man to beat.
Challenging the young Ethiopian will be a trio of Kenyans: Cybrian Kotut, Josphat Boit and former half-marathon world record holder Kibiwott Kandie. Kotut, who will likely be crowned champion of the 2023 Amsterdam Marathon after the four-year doping suspension of Joshua Belet last week, has a personal best of 2:04:34 and enters the race with the second-fastest seed time. Boit, who is known for pacing Kipchoge to his 2018 Berlin world record, will look to improve on his 2:05:42 from last year, when he finished 13th.
German fans will be cheering for marathoner Hendrik Pfeiffer, who had a podium finish at the 2024 Houston Marathon and followed up with a top-10 finish at the 2024 London Marathon. He has a personal best of 2:07:14.
The women’s race
Although this year’s women’s field lacks some of the biggest names, like Sifan Hassan, Hellen Obiri or Assefa (who are all recovering from the Paris Olympics), we could witness the rise of a new star. Leading the charge is Ethiopia’s Tigist Ketema, who clocked the second-fastest time in the world this year with a 2:16:07 at the 2024 Dubai Marathon in January. Her time places her ninth all-time in women’s marathon history and fifth among Ethiopian women. Despite her lack of experience in marathon majors, if Ketema can match her personal best on Sunday, the race is hers to lose.
Genzebe Dibaba, the former 1,500m world record holder, hasn’t yet made the impact in the marathon many expected. After running a 2:18:05 in her debut at Amsterdam two years ago, she recorded a DNF in London and finished sixth in Chicago the following year. Berlin’s flat, fast course suits her running style, so this could be the race where Dibaba finally makes her marathon breakthrough.
Germany’s Melat Kejeta will be looking to rebound from her DNF at the Paris Olympics just six weeks ago. With a personal best of 2:21:47 and a podium finish at the 2023 Tartan Homes Ottawa Marathon, Kejeta could be a dark-horse contender.
There are no Canadian men or women in the 2024 Berlin Marathon elite field.
How to watch
You can catch the action live on FloTrack starting at 2:15 a.m. ET Sunday, with the elite race kicking off at 3:15 a.m. ET. Sign up for a FloTrack account to stream the event.
