New records at the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON

Fotyen Tesfay pulverizes the track record

The Ethiopian Fotyen Tesfay crossed the finish line at the Brandenburg Gate after 63:35 minutes and improved the previous mark of 65:02 by over one and a half minutes. Her time is the fifth fastest ever run over the 21.0975 km and a world best time for the year. Behind her, her compatriots Ftaw Zeray and Alemaddis Eyayu finished second and third in 67:02 and 67:12 respectively. The fastest German woman was Esther Pfeiffer (Düsseldorf Athletics), who finished seventh in a personal record of 69:15.

^{© SCC EVENTS / Petko Beier}

Amanal Petros writes German running history

Amanal Petros has written a chapter in German running history at the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON: The 29-year-old was the first national runner to break the hour barrier and finished in a very strong third place. Petros improved his German record from 60:09 to 59:31, making him the fourth-fastest European of all time and setting a European best time for the year. Gemechu Dida had previously missed the course record by a hair's breadth as the winner. The Ethiopian missed the mark by just one second with a time of 58:43. Second-placed Kenyan Richard Etir finished just ahead of Amanal Petros in 59:30 in very cold temperatures and some wind.

Record number of 40,721 runners

A record number of 40,721 runners from 135 nations were registered for the largest and most spectacular German half marathon by far. Including the supporting competitions, this figure even rose to a good 42,000 athletes. The GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON has thus joined the ranks of the world's biggest half marathons.

"I hardly expected such strong times due to the weather and I take my hat off to the athletes. The fact that they ran such strong times in these conditions is amazing," said Race Director Mark Milde.

It was then the fastest runner on the start list, Gemechu Dida, who took the initiative early on. When he passed the 10 km mark after 27:43, he already had a lead of 19 seconds over Richard Etir. Dida's lead increased slightly as he chased the course record. But in the end, the Ethiopian missed the best time of Kenyan Eric Kiptanui, who had already run 58:42 in 2018, by just one second.

^{© SCC EVENTS / Petko Beier}

Amanal Petros finishes third

Amanal Petros (Hannover 96), who was on course for a time of well under an hour right from the start, performed brilliantly against the strong Africans. After several attempts in the past, he has now broken his three-and-a-half-year-old best time in Berlin. "I'm very happy, all the effort was worth it. But the wind was fierce," said Amanal Petros, who had trained at altitude in Kenya. The European marathon champion also ran a strong race: Richard Ringer (LC Rehlingen) finished fourth with a personal best time of 60:51.

Fotyen Tesfay stormed to a start-to-finish victory, producing the highest-class performance of the day. The Ethiopian ran split times in the first half that were close to the world record of her compatriot Letesenbet Gidey (62:52). But in the second half of the race, she was no longer able to keep up the extremely fast pace. “The course is very good, but it was extremely windy and the cold was also difficult for me,” said Fotyen Tesfay. “But I kept my rhythm well and I'm happy about a great time.”

^{© SCC EVENTS / Petko Beier}

Blanka Dörfel surprises

Not unexpectedly, Esther Pfeiffer came out on top as the fastest German runner. The obstacle specialist Gesa Krause (Silvesterlauf Trier) was able to keep up with the wife of the 2:07 marathon runner Hendrik Pfeiffer until kilometer 13, then the Düsseldorf runner ran away. "It's a load off my mind. I'm happy to have beaten my best time despite the wind. It wasn't easy in these conditions," said Esther Pfeiffer, who finished in seventh place after 69:15. Blanka Dörfel ran a strong race, improving to 69:46 as the second best German and finishing tenth. Gesa Krause followed in eleventh place in 70:02.

Berben Vonk and Rijhnen fastest inline skaters

Norlay Berber Vonk (40:59 min.) SPSPSK Team/NED) and Felix Rijhnen (32:13 min./Powerslide Vesmaco Team/Darmstadt) - these are the names of the winning inline skaters at the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON. This is Felix Rijhnen's fifth victory in the spring classic in Berlin. A group of four including Rijhnen, Jason Suttles (Powerslide Vesmaco/BEL), last year's winner Nolan Beddiaf (MANAO FRSkates, FRA ) and Julio Cesar Mirena Ortiz (SheaSTokes/PAR) broke away at kilometer 5 and rode at a very high pace for a long time. “We could have been much faster, but in the last few kilometers we just lurked around each other,” said Rijhnen: “Thanks to Jason, we managed to get into the perfect position just before the finish and take the first place for our team.” Belgian Bart Swings is also a member of Team Powerslide Vesmaco. The serial winner of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON and Olympic speed skating champion was unable to compete today due to a knee injury. The second place went to Beddiaf, third place to Suttels.

Josie Hofmann on the podium

As the winner of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON Inline Skating 2024, Norlay Berber Vonk more than lived up to her role as favorite in the women's competition. The 27-year-old beat Natalia Pesantez (SheaStokes/EGU) in the final sprint to the finish. Third place on the podium went to Josie Hofmann (Powerslide Vesmaco) from Gera. “I trained on rollers for the first time in months on Monday, so I'm more than happy,” said Hofmann, who is currently aiming to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics on ice. "It's just a great feeling to win in Berlin. There's nothing better for me. I'll definitely be back for the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON."

^{© SCC EVENTS / Petko Beier}

Also for fitness-oriented skaters

The GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON also marked the start of the GERMAN INLINE CUP 2025, the most important national race series, the final of which will be held as part of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. In addition to the winners among the speed skaters, fitness-oriented skaters can also collect points for the overall standings. Today's winners in the fitness category are Daniel Greig (39:56 min./AUS) and Michaela Egelseer (40:16 min.) from Bavaria. Important to know: Inline skaters can still register for the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON on September 20, 2025.

Sensational performance by the wheelchair athletes

Amos Ruben Donath is only 14 years old - today the German youngster made a real statement among the wheelchair racing athletes. His time of 56:14 minutes is regarded as an outstanding top time among the U17-year-olds that has hardly ever been achieved before. The runner-up finished just three seconds behind last year's winner Thomas van Hulst (56:11 min./NED). Last year's winner also repeated his success in the handbike category: Mathias Behr won in 44:21 minutes. The fastest female cyclist was Yvonne Pijahn (50:09 min.). Since 2024, organizer SCC EVENTS has been offering junior competitions for talented racing wheelchair and handbike athletes up to the age of 23 as part of the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON.