Sawe and Wanjiru triumph at the BMW BERLIN MARATHON 2025
Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe stormed to victory at the 51st BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, clocking a world-leading 2:02:16 in testing conditions. Despite starting temperatures of 20°C and soaring to 25°C in the later stages, Sawe produced the ninth-fastest time in history and what many dubbed a “warm weather world record.” No athlete has ever run so fast in such heat.
Sawe finished almost five minutes clear of Japan’s Akira Akasaki, who took second in 2:06:15, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele claimed third in 2:06:57.
In the women’s race, Rosemary Wanjiru of Kenya narrowly held off Ethiopia’s Dera Dida, winning in 2:21:05. Wanjiru’s victory margin was just three seconds, with Azmera Gebru (Ethiopia) completing the podium in 2:21:29.
More than 55,000 runners from 160 nations took part, cementing Berlin’s status as one of the world’s largest and most prestigious marathons.
Men’s Race
Sawe, 30, set out aggressively, targeting a record-breaking pace. Pacemakers led him through 10km in 28:26, pointing towards a sub-two-hour finish. At halfway, he split 60:16, exactly on track for Eliud Kipchoge’s world record pace.
Defending champion Milkesa Mengesha (Ethiopia) could not keep up and later dropped out, while the final pacemaker stepped aside earlier than expected at 23km. That left Sawe to battle the heat alone.
By 30km (1:26:06), he was still inside Kipchoge’s 2022 course record tempo (2:01:09), but the rising temperatures proved decisive. “I gave it my all and I am very happy to have won the race. It was tough in the heat,” said Sawe, who has now triumphed in all three of his career marathons, adding Berlin to his wins in Valencia (2024) and London (2025).
Race Director Mark Milde praised the performance: “That was an incredible effort by Sabastian in these conditions.” Indeed, many elite athletes who started aggressively succumbed to the heat and failed to finish.
Germany’s Hendrik Pfeiffer delivered the best national performance, finishing eighth in 2:09:14 — the highest placing by a German man in Berlin since 1990, when Jörg Peter finished third. “That was the best race of my career,” Pfeiffer said.
Women’s Race
With the warm temperatures dictating strategy, the women’s leaders set off cautiously. A pack of four reached halfway in 69:07 before pre-race favourite Rosemary Wanjiru surged ahead after 25km. By 30km, she had carved out a 24-second lead.
But the heat took its toll. In the closing stages, Wanjiru faded badly, nearly surrendering her advantage. Dera Dida closed rapidly but was forced to settle for her third runner-up finish of 2025, following near-misses in Dubai and Paris. “I didn’t even realize it was getting so close at the end. I’ll keep working to win next time,” Dida said after clocking 2:21:08.
Exhausted, Wanjiru required medical attention at the finish and missed the press conference.
German runners impressed with two all-time performances. Fabienne Königstein finished sixth in a personal best of 2:22:17, becoming the third-fastest German woman ever. Domenika Mayer followed in eighth with a lifetime best of 2:23:16. “I’m really happy. I don’t usually run well in the heat, and it got very difficult towards the end, but the spectators pushed me,” Königstein said.
