How Kenyans Sawe and Wanjiru dominated the 2025 Berlin Marathon
Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe and Rosemary Wanjiru delivered a double victory for the country after winning the men’s and women’s races at the BMW Berlin Marathon over the weekend.
Sawe, who came into the race as favourite, lived up to expectations with a dominant solo run. He crossed the finish line in a world-leading time of 2:02:16, the fastest marathon time of 2024. This victory marked his third straight marathon win after triumphs in Valencia and London.
The 29-year-old broke away from the field after 25km and ran alone for the final 17km. Defending champion Milkesa Mengesha of Ethiopia tried to keep up early on but dropped out before the 30km mark.
Japan’s Akiraa Akasaki finished a distant second in 2:16:15, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele came third in 2:06:57.
Sawe has quickly established himself as one of the best marathon runners in the world. His time in Berlin placed him among the top 20 all-time performances, and he now owns three of the fastest times ever run.
In the women’s race, Rosemary Wanjiru also showed her class, claiming her second major title in 2:21:05. The 29-year-old, who won the Tokyo Marathon in 2023, had to dig deep in the final kilometre as Ethiopia’s Dera Dida closed in. Wanjiru held on to win by just three seconds.
Azmera Gebru of Ethiopia finished third in 2:21:29, ahead of Kenya’s Viola Cheptoo who was fourth in 2:21:40. Ethiopia dominated the top positions with five athletes in the top 10.
For Wanjiru, the win was another step in what has been an impressive marathon career since her debut in Berlin in 2022, where she finished second.
The double victory by Sawe and Wanjiru underlined Kenya’s continued dominance in global road racing.
Berlin Marathon Results
Women
1 Rosemary Wanjiru (KEN) 2:21:05
2 Dera Dida (ETH) 2:21:08
3 Azmera Gebru (ETH) 2:21:29
4 Viola Cheptoo (KEN) 2:21:40
5 Fantu Worku (ETH) 2:21:57
6 Fabienne Konigstein (GER) 2:22:17
7 Degitu Azimeraw (ETH) 2:23:02
8 Domenika Mayer (GER) 2:23:16
Men
1 Sabastian Sawe (KEN) 2:02:16
2 Akira Akasaki (JPN) 2:06:15
3 Chimdessa Debele (ETH) 2:06:57
4 Guye Adola (ETH) 2:07:11
5 Yuhei Urano (JPN) 2:07:35
6 Hassan Chahdi (FRA) 2:07:43
7 Shin Kimura (JPN) 2:08:37
8 Hendrik Pfeiffer (GER) 2:09:14