Tigst Assefa at the 2023 Berlin Marathon. This photograph is from 2023, not from the 2026 race. Photo: IgorCalzone1 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa won the women’s race at the BMW Berlin Marathon on Sunday, September 27, 2026. She finished in 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 4 seconds. According to World Athletics, the time set a new course record and ranks among the fastest women’s marathons on record.
Assefa hurt her right Achilles tendon in the closing stretch. Her manager later said the tendon had a complete rupture, and she had surgery the next day in Germany.
A third Berlin title
This was Assefa’s third Berlin Marathon title, after wins in 2022 and 2023. She cut 49 seconds from her own 2023 Berlin time of 2:11:53. That 2023 time had been the course record until Sunday. The women’s world record is 2:09:56. World Athletics reported that she reached 40 kilometers in 2:03:00, still projecting a finish near 2:09:44, before she began to limp. She still finished first.
What her manager told reporters
Manager Gianni Demadonna told Marathon Handbook on Monday, September 28, 2026, that the injury was a complete rupture of the right Achilles. Early race coverage from World Athletics had described a partial tear. Demadonna’s later account was the clearer medical report after the finish.
Demadonna said Assefa felt pain from about 31 kilometers. He said the pain turned sharp near 40 kilometers, and that the last 500 meters were terrible. He said she could not walk after she crossed the line, and that Haile Gebrselassie helped her from the finish area. He said she feels sad about the injury and about missing the world record.
Surgery in Bavaria
Assefa had surgery on Monday, September 28, 2026. Dr. Johannes Gabel performed the operation at BG Unfallklinik Murnau, a hospital south of Munich in Bavaria. Demadonna said she may spend about two months without walking, then move to walking and cycling, and later to slow running. He did not give a firm date for a return to racing.
The rest of the Ethiopian results
World Athletics listed more Ethiopian runners in the women’s race. Bedatu Hirpa finished second in 2:16:53. Dera Dida took third in 2:16:55. Bekelech Gudeta was fourth in 2:18:58, and Alemitu Tariku was fifth in 2:19:01.
In the men’s race, Guye Adola won in 2:02:50, a personal best. It was his second Berlin title after 2021. Gemechu Dida finished second in 2:03:19. Ethiopia took both elite titles on the same morning.
